Trusted Telecom Vendor

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).

Written by IAS POINT