New Delhi: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made a few suggestions in its recommendations on licensing program reforms released.

One of the suggestions is that there should be no cap on the operators’ number in any service area. Another was to demand the Department of Telecom (DoT) to create a multi-disciplinary board to frame spectrum allocation criteria. Members including the committee would be from Wireless planning, TRAI, DoT and coordination wing of Communication Ministry and operator associations.

TRAI also proposed a onetime operators fee for allocating spectrum beyond 10 Mhz. At present, a company pays up one percent of its earnings to the administration for extra range that is being apportioned based on the subscriber base.

The recommended fee for allocation of 2x5 Mhz of range in category A circles and Mumbai, Delhi is Rs 80 crore, whilst for B circles category and Chennai, Kolkata, is Rs 40 crore. On the other hand, the onetime fee for category C circles is Rs 15 crore.

TRAI proposed a one-time fee of Rs 16 crore for allotment of one Mhz range. TRAI also sought auction for future spectrum allocation except in case of allotment to mobile operator on 800, 900 and 1800 Mhz band.

Nirpendra Misra, TRAI Chairman told the onetime charge for added range is the most indifferent principle to make a level playing field. For M&As the controller aimed that the coalesced market share of combined entities should not surpass 40 percent either in terms of subscribers or earning.

TRAI also planned that an operator should be permitted to get hold of up to 20 percent equity in a telco in the same circle. Presently, the cap is 10%.

“These proposals are far reaching. We are guided by the fact that Indian telecom sector has reached a stage where artificial barrier to competition should be removed to achieve the target of 500 million subscriber base,” Mr. Misra added.