SUC in FYQ3 plunges over 42% vs FYQ2, Airtel outpaces Jio on AGR: Trai data

Mumbai: Spectrum usage charge (SUC) collections for the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) plunged over 42% sequentially to Rs 811 crore in the December quarter, FY23, after the government stopped charging this statutory fee on airwaves acquired from last year’s 5G auctions, and onwards.

The government’s licence fee collections, though, rose 2.24% on-quarter to Rs 5, 031 crore in the October-December period, the latest operator performance data put out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Wednesday said.

Telcos pay license fees and SUC to the government as a percentage of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) which grew 1.49% sequentially in the fiscal third quarter to Rs 62,904 crore, indicating a tapering of the gains from the tariff hikes taken by private carriers in November 2021.