In a bid to promote use of telephones in rural areas, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has waived the licence fee on rural landlines.
The move has been made to ensure that there is adequate growth in the landlines segment where the usage of telecom services remain low. The move will make the government lose about Rs 200 crore revenue per year.
An official statement said here that the decision is also intended to give a boost to e-governance through provision of more broadband services in villages, thus reducing the digital divide.
Incidentally, recent figures brought out by the government pointed to a decline in use of landlines, both in rural and urban India, and a major increase in the use of mobile phones.
According to the reports, the decision for waiver was taken by the Telecom Commission in its latest meeting.
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