GSM and CDMA Telecom Operators gross revenue rises 9.5 pc in Oct-Dec 2014: Trai

Total gross revenue of telecom service providers increased by 9.54 per cent to Rs 63,955 crore in October-December, 2014, a report by telecom regulator TRAI said.

The combined gross revenue of operators was at Rs 58,385 crore in the same period of 2013, according to the TRAI's performance indicator report.

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The adjusted gross revenue (AGR), on which telecom operators pay revenue share as licence fee and spectrum charges to government, increased by 10.15 per cent to Rs 43,591 crore in the last quarter of 2014, from Rs 39,575 reported in the last quarter of 2013.

The monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) of GSM operators like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Uninor increased by 5.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 118 in reported period. The ARPU for CDMA operators like MTS, Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices increased by 4.8 per cent yer-on-year to Rs 109.

The number of telephone subscribers in the country increased by 6.09 per cent to 970.97 million in the reported quarter. The mobile or wireless subscriber base on yearly basis increased by 6.51 per cent to 943.97 million at the end of December 2014.

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The total number of Internet subscribers in the country was 267.39 million at the end of December 2014. This included 18.86 million wired internet subscribers and 248.53 million wireless internet subscribers, as per the report.

Subscribers of GSM and CDMA network combined consumed an average of 89.43 megabyte of internet data per month through their mobile. On CDMA network, average data consumed by a subscriber in a month stood at 251.93 MB while on GSM network it was 79.73 MB in the October-December 2014 period, as per the report.

In case of unauthorised call centre operations of Sehgal Infotech and SBSL, the DoT has not replied to CAG's observation while the TERM Cell replied saying that there was no provision for penal action as per rules of Other Service Provider (OSP) registration.

The auditor rejected the reply of TERM cell saying that the vigilance function of TERM Cell stipulates that it should have control over clandestine or illegal operation of telecom networks by vested interests having no licence.

The TERM are also required to file FIR against culprits, pursue the cases, issue notices indicating violation of conditions of various Acts in force from time to time. "Therefore, TERM Cell failed to identify the illegal or unauthorised OSP activities, which was fraught with security risks," the CAG said.

The CAG has also pulled up TERM Cells for failure to impose penalty to the tune of Rs 4,300 crore on telecom operators for violating mobile tower radiation rules. "Contention of DoT about manpower deficiency being the primary reason for delay is not acceptable as alleged shortage of manpower has been allowed to continue even after ten years," the auditor said.

Source: PTI