The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has released its recommendations for the Union Budget 2025-26, focusing on alleviating the financial strain on Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) due to heavy investments, especially in 5G deployment.
COAI has proposed abolishing the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) levy or suspending the 5 percent Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) contribution until the existing USO corpus of ₹86,000 crore is utilized. It also suggests reducing the license fee from 3 percent to 1 percent, aligning it with administrative costs.
COAI represents leading telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, among others.
The telecom industry body calls for refining the definition of Gross Revenue (GR) to exclude revenue from non-licensed activities and advocates for large traffic generators (LTGs) to contribute to telecom infrastructure development by paying into the USO or Digital Bharat Nidhi Fund.
COAI highlights the adverse financial impacts of intense market competition, the Supreme Court’s 2019 AGR ruling, and incremental dues, requesting clarification on service tax applicability for license fees and spectrum charges resulting from the ruling.
Indian telecom operators have reported 6.27 percent quarter-on-quarter rise in their gross revenue (GR) to Rs 91,426 crore during the July-September quarter of 2024. India has 1,153.72 million mobile phone users. India has 944.39 million broadband subscribers, according to TRAI.
COAI also flags the 20 percent customs duty on telecom equipment, which hampers 5G rollout, urging an exemption on such equipment to reduce costs and facilitate infrastructure deployment. These measures aim to foster sustainable growth and strengthen India’s digital economy.
TelecomLead.com News Desk
