Announcing the detailed guidelines for basic telephone services, the Minister for Communications, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan said, "We have taken a decision to permit limited mobility for basic operators, because it will increase tele-density and offer affordable telephones to the people."While permitting limited mobility at the charges of Rs 1.20 per unit call, the use of hand-held Wireless Access Systems shall be allowed but will be limited to the local call area through the numbering plan, to prevent misuse, explained DoT secretary Shyamal Ghosh. As per the guidelines, all licensees to cover 80 per cent of short distance charging areas (SDCAs), which approximately covers a distance of 50 km diameter, independently by establishing a point of presence. Beyond 80 per cent it may be covered jointly by new licensees apart from BSNL. The last bank guarantee shall be released only after fulfilling this condition.

Meanwhile, to placate the cellular operators, "the government has taken steps to ensure level-playing field conditions," said Mr Paswan.

Accordingly, the licence fee for cellular services, for new as well as existing operators, has been reduced from the current level of 17 per cent and has been made at par with basic services.

The licence fee has been reduced to 12 per cent of annual gross revenues for metro service areas and category `A' circles, 10 per cent for category `B' circles and 8 per cent for category `C' circles. He also said that the CPP issue, which has been a long-standing demand of the cellular industry and will allow them to offer free incoming calls, should be decided by the TRAI in a couple of months.

Mr Paswan also added that the rentals for the basic operators shall be announced in the coming two months as the issue is pending with the TRAI.

Indicating a rationalisation, he added that the rentals would be "cost-based."

Meanwhile, the basic service guidelines allow the applicant companies to apply for licences in any number of licence areas. However, the total foreign equity in the applicant company will not exceed 49 percent. Networth requirement, for basic operator aspirants, will vary from from Rs 20 crores to Rs 1000 crore in various categories of telecom circles, with the paid-up equity capital being 10 percent of the required networth.

The entry fee shall vary from Rs 1 crore to Rs 115 crore and there shall be four phases of roll out obligations linked with the performance bank guarantee varying from Rs 4 crore to Rs 460 crore.

Licence fee shall remain at 12, 10, and 8 per cent revenue share of annual gross revenue (excluding spectrum charges) for categories `A', `B', & `C' circles respectively. In addition to the entry fee, the basic operators shall also have to share an additional 2 per cent of the annual gross revenue earned from WLL subscribers as spectrum charges, for allocation of 5+5 MHz in the paired band in 800/ 900 MHz in a complete service area.

The other sops being given to the cellular operators, include a permission to provide `fixed phones' based on their existing GSM cellular network infrastructure. Point of inter-connection between the networks of cellular service providers and fixed service providers shall be only with level-I TAXs and tandem exchanges in the metros.

Meanwhile, it has been determined for the present by the TRAI that for the calls from cellular network to fixed service network, out of the charges collected by the cellular operators for the fixed leg of the call, 5 per cent will be retained by the cellular operator.

As per the guidelines, the applicant company shall make its own arrangements for right of way (ROW). Licencee shall be free to carry intra-circle long distance traffic and direct inter-connectivity among all service providers in a service area have also been permitted. Licensee can also appoint franchisees for provision of last mile linkages, including suitable rural exchanges to provide service.

Operators told to refund subscribers
The Trai on Thursday directed the cellular operators to refund their subscribers on the basis of the new charges applicable from August 1999 onwards, when the cellular operators migrated from the fixed licence fee regime to the revenue sharing regime under the NTP'99. The operators have been told to refund the amount due to the subscribers for both through fixed and variable charges - rentals and air time charges paid by the standard tariff subscribers and airtime charge for other subscribers.