Vodafone Idea plea rejected: TDSAT refuses cheaper rates for backhaul spectrum

In a setback to Vodafone Idea, telecom tribunal TDSAT has ordered against the company’s plea that backhaul spectrum assigned to it be charged at 2002 rates, as against new rates prescribed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in 2006.

However, the tribunal also said the DoT can’t coerce the company and other operators to pay the charges through a forced bilateral agreement by extending the threat of losing the backhaul spectrum if they do not sign on the dotted lines.

The 2006 rates are slightly higher, though the differential between the two rates is less than 1%. The rate at which backhaul spectrum is charged ranges from 0.2% to 2% depending on the number of carriers an operator has. Most of the operators pay between 1% and 2% as charges for using backhaul spectrum.