DoT abolishes NOCC charges for all telecom licence holders

11 May,22 9:01 am
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Abolishment of NOCC Charges by DoT: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has recently abolished the network operation and control center (NOCC) charges.

Key Points:

  • The order shall be effective from April 1, 2022.
  • DoT has removed The NOCC charges for the use of space segments for all services like VSAT, GMPCS (satellite phone service), NLD (national long distance) and other telecom licensees having unified licence or standalone license.
  • The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) levied Rs 21 lakh per transponder every year for 36 MHz of spectrum on a pro-rata basis.
  • Apart from this, the government also charged Rs 6,000 for every trial of antenna that is used for receiving and transmitting signals.

Why the NOCC charge is abolished?

  • DoT has abolished the NOCC charge to provide a fillip to upcoming satellite broadband companies and also to ensure more competition and growth in the Indian satellite broadband market.

Benefit:

  • As satellite communication companies no longer have to pay the NOCC for transponder bandwidth, Indians can expect lower broadband-from-space prices.

What is the NOCC charge?

  • The Network operation and control center (NOCC) charge is a charge levied on the use of space segments by telecom service providers for satellite telephony, broadband, etc.

About NOCC:

  • The NOCC levy regime was introduced in 2003.
  • The NOCC was created under the DoT to control the transmissions from the ground segment (satellite earth stations) along with the master control facility under the Department of Space to manage the operation of satellites in orbit.

In India, which companies are aiming to provide satellite broadband services?

  • Currently, Sunil Bharti Mittal’s OneWeb and Elon Musk’s Starlink are the providers planning to launch satellite broadband services in India using low-earth orbit satellites.
  • Reliance Jio, in February, had announced that it has formed a joint-venture with Luxembourgish satellite-based content connectivity solutions provider SES, and plans to deliver satellite broadband services across India.

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