Telecom Commission approves 16-yr time period for Spectrum payment

Telecom Commission, the apex decision making body at the telecom department, has approved extension of time period for the payment of spectrum bought in auctions by telcos to 16 years from the current 10 years. 

Official sources said, the commission also approved recommendation of the inter- ministerial group (IMG) tasked with finding a remedy to the financial difficulties of the telecom sector to lower interest rate charged over penalties imposed on service



providers with slight modification.

The Telecom Commission also cleared path for formulating a draft of new National Telecom Policy (NTP) by according its approval. The guiding principal of the NTP will be a vision as per the Digital India programme and telecom will act as enabler.

The commission has also approved installation of 2,817 mobile towers in the North East with an outlay of about 2,258 crore rupees.