Telecom cos pay 35 licence dues

NEW DELHI, AUG 16: Most private telecom companies today paid up an additional 15 per cent of their pending licence fee dues, taking the total tally paid so far to 35 per cent, to embark on the revenue sharing regime under the New Telecom Policy 1999 NTP. The Government today collected Rs 159.89 crore towards licence fee dues and Rs 63.47 crore as liquidated damages for delays in implementing network roll-outs.

Only three companies 8212; Essar for basic telephony in the Punjab circle, JT Mobile for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and Fascel for Gujarat, all cellular licences 8212; have not increased their financial bank guarantees. These companies had not paid their 20 per cent dues in February as a result of which the Department of Telecommunications DoT had encashed their financial bank guarantees. These companies now needed to up their bank guarantees to that extent as licence fees had been already adjusted when the earlier 20 per cent payments were due.

Essar, sources said, had defaulted on not only thebank guarantees but also the liquidated damages payment, of around Rs 8 crore. Whether DoT embarks on another round of terminations of licences will become clear only in the next few days. The fact is that the Government may take a tough stand on allowing these companies to get on to the revenue sharing arrangement.

With the payment of these outstandings, the companies have ensured that they have got themselves on to the revenue sharing regime, cleared by the Government in July. Of course, this would be subject to the Delhi High Court8217;s order that the NTP be subject to ratification by the next Council of Ministers and the 13th Lok Sabha.