Cellphone companies may be forced to hike call rates. The Union Cabinet has approved charging of about 31,000 crore rupees as a one-time fee on spectrum held by telecom firms such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone in an attempt to create level playing field between old and new operators. The govt has approved the recommendation of an Empowered Group of Ministers that GSM-based telecom operators be asked to pay for airwaves they hold beyond 4.4 Mega-Hertz at an auction-determined price.

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