Spectrum usage charge has a huge bearing on the operator. It is a perpetual outflow of cash to the government — dampening telecom revenues by approximately 3.5 to 4.5%. This note is an attempt to explain how acquiring a large quantum of millimeter wave spectrum in the 26/28 GHz band can help contain (reduce) this outflow. Also, here we try to analyze the possibility of the government tweaking the rules to prevent this revenue loss. And is this their intent? If yes, what methods it can adopt if any? And will this be against the spirit of the telecom reforms?
Background
On 15th Sept 2021, the cabinet, through a press note, announced a set of reforms for the struggling telecom sector of India. In this press note, the reforms were bucketed under two heads — a) Structural Reforms; b) Procedural Reforms. Point number 7 of the structural reform is reproduced here for easy reference.
