100% FDI in voicemail okayed

100% FDI in voicemail okayed
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU

NEW DELHI, FEB 17: The government has opened up the voice mail and audiotex services to 100 per cent foreign direct investment, without any entry fee or licence fee for the service providers. While fixing the performance bank guarantee at Rs 3 lakh for each licence, the government has also allowed the existing voice mail/audiotex service licensees to migrate to the new licensing regime with effect from April 1, said communications minister Ram Vilas Paswan here on Saturday.

Under the new package, voice mail and audiotex, within the short distance charging area, can be provided as value-added services by the basic, cellular, and cable service providers as access providers over their network. According to the new guidelines issued by the department of telecommunication, these licences will be issued on a non-exclusive basis on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis. Though the guidelines say the tariffs will be governed by the Trai, the government has permitted the service providers to fix their own tariff and intimate the same to the Trai.