Relief for bleeding telcos: TDSAT cuts govt’s spectrum charge demand by 60%

The burden of one-time spectrum charge (OTSC) for incumbent operators like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea just came down by more than 60% as the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has ruled that the department of telecommunications can only charge for administratively allocated spectrum to these firms beyond 6.2 MHz and not 4.4 MHz.

The telecom tribunal has also said in its order which was pronounced on July 4 that this levy cannot be charged from a retrospective basis, that is 1.7.2008, when a decision to this effect was taken by the government but can be charged only prospectively, that is 1.1.2013, the date on which the government notified this decision.