NEW DELHI: The Government has constituted a committee of secretaries to explore a financial bailout package for the telecom sector by lowering spectrum charges as well as ending the era of free mobile phone calls and dirt cheap data as companies look at the Government for avoiding payment of thousands of crores of rupees in overdue statutory levies.
The Committee of Secretaries, headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, has been asked to examine “all aspects” of “financial stress” faced by service providers such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea and suggest measures to mitigate them, sources in the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said.
The panel, which will comprise secretaries to the ministries of finance, law, and telecom, has been asked to look at the demands of telecom service providers (TSPs) for deferment of payments they had promised for the spectrum won through auction as well as consider lowering airwave usage charge. (AGENCIES)
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