NEW DELHI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) have got the approval for financial support from the Union Cabinet on surrender of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum.

Upfront charges paid for such spectrum would be refunded.

The objective of this decision is to provide financial support to the extent of one-time upfront charges paid for BWA spectrum for six service areas of BSNL and both service areas of MTNL on surrender of the spectrum. The six licensed service areas of BSNL are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kolkata.

The amount to be refunded to BSNL is Rs 6724.51 crore and Rs 4533.97 crore for MTNL. The refund will be made to ensure support for the revival and revitalisation of BSNL and MTNL in the competitive telecom sector. It shall also help these PSUs to arrange finances to meet basic financial commitments such as operation and maintenance of their telecom network.