New Delhi March 13

GSM-based cellular operators' initiative to launch mobile money transfer services in the country seems to have hit a minor bump, with the industry fearing that the Government may start counting the money transferred through mobile networks for the purpose of calculating annual licence fee.

The service, announced in Barcelona during the 3GSM World Congress, will allow subscribers to transfer money from anywhere in the world by sending an SMS from their handsets.

The service is particularly relevant for India, not only because it is the largest recipient of international remittances worldwide ($22 billion in 2005) but also because it will be equally useful for funds transfer within the country.

However, the operators have now asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to come clear on the accounting policy before the service can be introduced.

Senior Government officials said that the DoT has received representation from private cellular operators on how the monies transferred through mobile phones will be considered for the purpose of calculation of licence fees.

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