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New Delhi: The Association of Virtual Network Operators of India (VNOAI) faces adversity for smaller entrepreneurs in recent policy-level amendments such as licensing fee rationalization and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) levy Virtual telecom companies said they were overlooked. in the nascent sector.
In a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) dated 2 January 2023, VNOI Executive Director RK Mehta said: make the business unsuccessful. ”
Furthermore, Mehta said the situation has arisen looking down on the evolving industry despite modifications made by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to facilitate the industry in the 2016-2022 period.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (VNOs) are resellers or distributors who purchase large amounts of voice and data from telecom carriers and resell them in rural and semi-urban areas under their own local brands, allowing operators to take greater advantage of network capacity. will do so.
Based in Delhi, Lobby Group represents virtual network operators such as Oxigen Services, AdPay Mobile Payment India, Spiderlink Networks and Lyca Telecom.
The agency called for the PMO’s intervention to review and eliminate common policies that are causing financial burdens on smaller businesses and local entrepreneurs.
“Despite the many reforms implemented by the Ministry of Transport in 2021 to reduce licensing fees and bank guarantees, it will make the business model of virtual network operators viable and serve the rural and semi-rural areas of the country. not enough to do so,” he said in the letter.
Meanwhile, the DoT clarified last month that revenues from wireline operations are excluded from AGR when calculating spectrum usage charges (SUCs) paid on a weighted average basis. VNO has requested similar exemptions.
VNO business does not fare well in India as multiple bottlenecks make it difficult for companies and entrepreneurs to operate in the sector.
“The meeting will be overseen by Telecommunications Secretary K Rajaraman,” an official told ET. Also, if Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism officials and executives of telecommunications carriers are absent during the year-end and New Year holidays, it may be shifted to the first week of January.
Many local entrepreneurs have been forced to close their businesses and close their stores against the backdrop of the increasing burden of AGR and license fees stipulated by the department on licensing fees and AGRs imposed on categories B and C of VNO companies. Some companies are in danger of closing, Mehta said. .
Since 2016, nearly 800 companies have received access service licenses in different categories, with 18 companies such as Orange Business Services, Tata Communications, SciFi Technologies, Plintron India, Cloud Connect Communication among others being in Category A, with nearly 800 companies receiving access services licenses across India. Mandatory to operate.
The VNO body feels that existing policies are entirely dependent on the parent service provider.
A virtual operator is treated as an extension of a telecommunications service provider and, per the terms of its license, cannot deploy equipment that interconnects with other networks.
Incumbent private companies Jio, Airtel and Vi remain reluctant to share network capacity with virtual firms, but the lack of support for provisioning services from state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) undermines them. said the group. .
In 2015, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Trai) of India recommended UL-VNO license for unbundling of service delivery layer and in May 2016 Telecommunications Sector published guidelines for virtual operators .
BSNL provides for “aboveground telecommunication towers, infrastructure as a service provider (IaaSP) supply and construction, installation of infrastructure items and subsequent O&M for 5 years (extendable for 5 years in non-covered Indian villages) ” contract. under the 4G saturation project,” the company said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
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