Telco body seeks USOF, tax reliefs in FY25 Union Budget

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₹77,000 crore) is exhausted. Further, license fee should be brought down from 3% to 1% at the earliest, to cover only administrative costs by the department of telecommunications," a statement by Coai said.

The FY25 Union Budget session is scheduled to be held on 31 January, with union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman set to present the upcoming financial year’s budget on 1 February. Industry observers said that the realization of such relief is in line with the progress of the nature of services provided by companies in the industry right now.

SP Kochhar, director-general of Coai, said, “The recent forward-looking reforms signal a positive intent towards a robust and future-ready telecom sector, capable of fueling India's digital ambitions. But to fully realize this potential, we must address the financial constraints impeding the sector’s expansion.

Reducing levy burdens is not just an economic necessity, but a strategic investment in our digital future. By allocating adequate resources for 5G rollout, network expansion and fiberization in the upcoming budget, the government can unlock this critical sector's full potential." Alongside traditional data services, the telecom industry is also at the cusp of the advent of satellite-driven communication services, which is set to begin once the Centre commences administrative satellite allocation that the newly notified Telecommunications Act, 2023 has formalized.

Telcos are also contending with the advent of direct-to-mobile (D2M) broadcasts, which seeks to bring television broadcasts directly to smartphones. While telecom operators have claimed that such a service will hurt the sector’s revenue potential, Apurva Chandra, secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting