India to raise annual spectrum fees for telcos

India will charge a fee of 1-2 per cent of mobile operators' revenue for using additional airwaves and will also levy a one-time charge fo r spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz, a telecoms ministry spokesman said on Wednesday. The decision will affect all leading telecoms operators, including No 1 player Bharti Airtel and rivals Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular. Akshay Rout, additional director general of media and communications, said firms would be charged 1 per cent of their revenue for spectrum between 4.4 and 8 MHz, and 2 per cent for up to 10 MHz spectrum. "The modalities, including the timeline, will be decided by the telecom commission through formal channel when they meet on Monday," Rout said. The decision was taken after the telecoms minister, Andimuthu Raja, met the prime minister and finance minister on Tuesday, he said. It is in line with a recommendation from the telecoms regulator made earlier this year. At 0725 GMT, shares in Bharti were down 3 per cent, Reliance Communications had fallen 6.6 per cent and Idea Cellular had lost 5.9 per cent in a weak Mumbai market