By IANS
Kolkata : India’s telecom regulator is considering a change in the access deficit charge that is levied on private operators and given to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to enable it to serve rural areas, but will consult the public before taking any decision, the top official of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said here Saturday.
TRAI chairman Nripendra Misra said private telecom operators had been protesting the ADC, which is levied to compensate BSNL, which serves unprofitable rural areas.
The TRAI would also soon take a decision on the transfer of Rs.22 billion, collected from the private telecom operators in 2007-08, to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) fund formed by the government to increase telecom penetration in the rural areas, he added.
Mobile telephone operators are adding over eight million new subscribers every month in the country.