Mobile operators could get a reprieve of about Rs 600 crore, which has been levied as fines by the department of telecommunications (DoT) on various service providers for failing to provide 90% in-building coverage as stipulated in the licence conditions.
Sources said that at a meeting with the operators recently, DoT has agreed to look into the matter afresh and has decided to constitute a committee, which will look into the issues of licence conditions relating to in-building coverage.
In-building coverage means that mobile signals should be received within the buildings. As per the licence condition, operators are supposed to provide 90% coverage within the buildings but almost all of them have failed to meet the criteria leading DoT to levy fines amounting to Rs 600 crore.
The operators pointed out to the DoT at a recently held meeting that nowhere in the world 90% coverage has been stipulated and delays have been primarily due to delays in statutory government clearances and defining the parameters as late as 2005.
The operators made a forceful plea that all service providers have defaulted in fulfilling in-building rollout obligations, which indicates that there may be need to re-look into the licence conditions. The operators argued that normally licensing conditions should be such that there would only be a few willful defaulters.
Though the points of the operators were contested by DoT officials who pointed out that failure to provide 90% in-building coverage affects quality of service. However, DoT has agreed to re-look into the whole matter afresh and the proposed committee would lay down fresh norms for measuring in-building coverage and its testing, which would be applicable both prospectively and retrospectively. Sources said the committee would revise the norms in a way that they could be met by most of the genuine operators.