The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended 50% reduction in the entry fee of captive VSAT licence, i.e. from Rs. 30 lakh to Rs. 15 lakh, according to a statement.
The regulator has also recommended that levy of the separate licence fee for the second hub for Captive VSAT should be done away with. It also said: "Present annual licence fee at Rs 10,000 per VSAT terminal as being charged presently for VSAT terminals connected to the first Hub shall be maintained for both the first and the second Hub and without levy of any minimum licence fee."
In its recommendations, the Trai said that FBG equivalent to License Fee for two-quarters might be charged from Captive VSAT license, and royalty charge for Captive VSAT terminals should be calculated in line with the formula given in DoT circular dated March 22, 2012. "In the formula for calculation of Royalty charge, annual royalty factor needs to be multiplied by bandwidth factor and number of carriers assigned only," it added.
"There is no justification for charging additional 25 per cent amount as reuse factor for some VSATs more than the number of carriers. These charges should be eliminated for calculation of Royalty charges. Accordingly, DoT may issue a necessary clarification in this regard," the regulator said.
The regulator added that in case delay in allotment of corresponding ground segment frequency by WPC extend beyond three months from the date of allotment of space segment by DoS, the space segment charges payable by the licensee to DoS may be borne by DoT till the time allocations/ clearances by WPC/ DoT/ NOCCare completed.
"Procedure for augmentation of bandwidth for Captive VSATlicensee shall be at par with those of Commercial VSAT, NLD, ILDlicensees. Augmentation should be cleared at the level of NOCCand WPConly (not at the level of Apex Committee). The validity of WOL for Captive VSAT licensee should be for five years at a time, instead of annual at present," it added.
It further recommended that the restriction or cap of 512Kbps/2Mbps per VSAT as maximum data rates for Captive VSAT should be revised upwardly and accordingly DoT/TEC may revise its specifications.
