Trusted Telecom Vendor is a vendor from whom telecom equipment purchase can be made by Indian entities. Recently, a decision has been made by the Cabinet Committee on security to introduce the concept of a Trusted Telecom vendor.
Key Points for UPSC Prelims
This decision has been made in order to protect the security and integrity of the nation. The Government will publish a list of trusted vendors for the telecom sector, only from whom equipment and spares can be procured.
A separate list with names of the unfit and unsafe vendors will also be released by the government.
This move is expected to move Chinese vendors like Huawei and ZTE out of the Indian market.
In addition to the above, the Government has proposed to establish a National Security Committee on Telecom, which could be headed by Deputy National Security Advisor.
Spectrum Auction
Recently, the Cabinet has approved guidelines for the next round of spectrum auction after the 2016 auction. This spectrum auction will start in January 2021.
The spectrum auction has been approved for different frequency bands- 2500 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2100 MHz, 1800 MHz, 900 MHz, 800 MHz, and 700 MHz.
The bidders will be able to pay the entire auction amount in a single payment or choose an option to pay a certain amount and pay the remaining after a moratorium of two years in 16 equated annual installments.
Successful bidders will also be required to pay 3% Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR).
Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR)
AGR is the licensing and usage fee charged by the telecom operators by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). It has two components- the Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) and Annual License Fee (LF).
