Telecom regulator Trai has said operators need to pay 0.5 per cent extra service usage charge (SUC) only on the shared spectrum and not on all the spectrum band in a telecom circle.

The telcos had been pushing the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to restrict the SUC levy. The DoT in January had asked Trai to reconsider its 2020 recommendations.

The DoT, citing a cabinet decision, had said that a telco should pay an incremental SUC of 0.5 per cent for entire spectrum holdings in a licensed service area, in case of sharing. The regulator, however, said that doing so will make the cost of spectrum sharing surpass the benefits achieved by the telcos.

Trai said a spectrum-sharing arrangement results in enhanced efficiencies and since the guidelines permit intra-band spectrum sharing only, capacity would be enhanced only in the spectrum bands being shared.

“Increment in SUC by 0.5 per cent of the overall weighted average SUC would be justified only in a situation wherein a telecom service provider (TSP) is sharing spectrum in all the spectrum bands held by it,” Trai said.

In October last year, the DoT notified that telcos have to pay the incremental levy.

The telcos challenged the demands and got a stay from the telecom tribunal. After that, DoT sent a reference back to Trai in February.

Airtel Lanka

Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said it will merge its Sri Lanka operations with Dialog Axiata.

"Dialog Axiata Plc, Axiata Group Berhad and Bharti Airtel Limited (collectively "the parties"), have entered into a binding term sheet to combine operations of Bharti Airtel Lanka (Private) Limited, Airtel's wholly-owned subsidiary with Dialog, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad," Airtel said in regulatory filing on the bourses.