Government collects Rs 4.76bn in fees from telecom sector

KATHMANDU:

The government has collected Rs 4.76 billion revenue as royalty and spectrum fees from the telecom sector.

A total of 19 firms, including five telecom companies, and network and internet service providers, paid Rs 3.42 billion royalty to the government from their income earned in the last fiscal year, according to Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).

Ncell paid Rs 1.96 billion (including Rs one billion committed royalty) and Nepal Telecom paid Rs 1.40 billion royalty for service operation in last fiscal.

NTA licensees are required to pay four per cent royalty within the first three months (by mid-October) of each fiscal year based on their annual income in the previous fiscal.

Based on the estimated four per cent of income, United Telecom Ltd (UTL) paid Rs 18.5 million, Smart Telecom Rs 37.8 million, and Nepal Satellite Telecom Rs 4.85 million.

STM Telecom Sanchar, among other licensees, is yet to pay the royalty, as per NTA.

In case of telecom companies, they are also required to pay a fee for use of maximum, additional spectrum, WiMax and 3G frequencies in advance within the first three months of each fiscal year.

Ambar Sthapit, deputy director at NTA, said that four telecom companies — NT, Ncell, UTL and Nepal Satellite Telecom — paid a combined Rs 1.34 billion as advance spectrum fee for the current fiscal year.

The Telecommunications Radio Frequency Distribution and Pricing Policy 2012, mandates each telecom company to clear the fee for maximum, additional spectrum, WiMax, 3G and VSAT spectrum being used within mid-October each year.

On the other hand, the charges for other frequencies — minimum spectrum and microwave airwaves — have to be paid within the first six months of each fiscal year based on the previous year’s income.

“Two major companies — NT and Ncell — have paid Rs 746.4 million and Rs 440 million spectrum fees, respectively, in advance this year,” said Sthapit. He said that Ncell paid less compared to NT as it uses less frequency.

Similarly, UTL paid Rs 30 million spectrum fee. However, Smart Telecom and STM Telecom Sanchar missed mid-October deadline to clear their dues.

Smart Telecom, which was issued unified licence last year, owes Rs 144 million as spectrum fee that it was supposed to clear by mid-October. As penalty, NTA imposes two per cent fine of total spectrum fee dues on telecom companies that fail to pay on time.

Source: THT