CHENNAI, March 3: Faced with falling bottomlines and rising costs, the paging industry has turned to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for a deferment of the third year licence fees by two years.It has also asked for a holiday from licence fees for the fourth and fifth year of operations keeping in mind the imbalance between revenue and expense.
The industry has asked the Department of Telecommunications to defer the third year licence fee which amounts to a total sum of Rs 84 crore for the 27 city paging operators, on a Net Present Value (NPV) basis.
Of the total 27 city paging operators, only a handful have actually paid the licence fee for the third year, industry sources said.
According to secretary general of the Indian Paging Services Association (IPSA) TN Uppal, the industry has been bogged down by heavy licence fee outgo.
"The net realisation the industry is looking for at the end of five years is about Rs 170 crore. But the licence fee payment for three years is Rs 168 crore. Itis a pretty hefty outflow and this puts pressure on the bottom line", he said.
The cellular industry has also asked for similar perks and their case is currently being examined by the Department of Telecommunications .
IPSA says the paging industry's representations would be considered after the study on the cellular industry is over.
So far, the licence fee payable for the fourth year by the city paging operators has not been fixed.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
