TRAI Likely to Make Cost of Backhaul Spectrum Cheaper for Telcos: Report

Reported by Tanuja K December 1st, 2025 at 12:35 pm

The backhaul spectrum is used by the telcos to connect cell towers. At present, telcos pay between 0.15-3.95% to the government for the spectrum charges. The current methodology dictates the charges to be based on the number of carriers a telco has.

Highlights

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is likely going to reduce the financial burden for the telcos that comes with backhaul spectrum.
This won't be entirely removed, the cost will still be there, but it will reduce by up to 50%.
According to data, the telcos pay somewhere around Rs 4,000 crore for accessing backhaul spectrum to the government.

trai likely to make cost of backhaul

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is likely going to reduce the financial burden for the telcos that comes with backhaul spectrum. This won't be entirely removed, the cost will still be there, but it will reduce by up to 50%. According to data, the telcos pay somewhere around Rs 4,000 crore for accessing backhaul spectrum to the government. Now that cost can significantly reudce in the near future.

The backhaul spectrum is used by the telcos to connect cell towers. At present, telcos pay between 0.15-3.95% to the government for the spectrum charges. The current methodology dictates the charges to be based on the number of carriers a telco has. The telcos have to pay for the backhaul spectrum by calculating it as a percentage of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) by applying a weighted average formula.

Once the TRAI rolls our recommendations for this, the government or the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will take the final call on the matter. The telcos have sought for a standard or a fixed rate for the backhaul spectrum charges. Earlier when the telcos were provided the backhaul spectrum administratively, it was done at a fixed rate. However, now a percentage of the AGR has to be calculated for the same since the time the government started offering the spectrum via auctions.

The backhaul spectrum consists of microwave access (MWA) and micrwave (MWB) frequencies. For the MWA carriers, the cost could be lowered by up to 50% by the TRAI, and for MWB frequencies, it could be fixed at a flat rate. The telecom operators have also been asking the government and the sector regulator to reduce the licensing charges for a long time. Currently, the license fee for the industry stands at 8% of the AGR, which is extremely high, the operators feel.