The Indian government’s licence fee collection from telecom service providers increased 8.23 percent year-on-year to Rs 5,326 crore, while spectrum usage charge mopups declined about 40 percent to Rs 836 crore in the September 2023 quarter, according to a latest TRAI report.

According to PTI, the operators’ gross revenue (GR) declined by 1.22 percent to Rs 82,741 crore, but adjusted gross revenue (AGR) increased by 7.43 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 66,583 crore during the reported quarter.

“On a YoY basis, GR decreased by 1.22 percent, ApGR (applicable gross revenue) increased by 6.74 percent, and AGR increased by 7.43 percent in the quarter ended September 2023,” the report released last Friday said.

Reliance Jio recorded the highest AGR of Rs 24,217.13 crore with a 9.12 percent year-on-year rise.

Bharti Airtel posted the highest AGR growth rate of 10.88 percent at Rs 19,840.84 crore during the quarter.

The AGR of debt-ridden Vodafone Idea remained almost flat at Rs 7,507.65 crore during the reported quarter.

State-owned BSNL’s AGR grew 1.93 percent to Rs 1,966.44 crore, while MTNL’s AGR declined 16.35 percent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 168.69 crore.

The government calculates its share of the revenue from the telecom sector in the form of licence fees and spectrum usage charges.

Access service providers or mobile operators like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea accounted for 81.67 percent of the total AGR.

“The License Fee increased from Rs 5,246 crore for the QE (quarter ended) June 2023 to Rs 5,326 crore for the QE September 2023. The quarterly and the Y-O-Y rates of growth in license fees are 1.53 and 8.23 percent, respectively, in this quarter,” the report said.