NT, Ncell reluctant to cough up NTA-tallied fee
KATHMANDU, FEB 01 -
Nepal Telecom ( NT ) and Ncell have refused to pay the 3G spectrum fee as calculated by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority ( NT A). The telecom operators have said they will pay the fee from the time they started commercial launch of their 3G service.
Last week, NT paid Rs 488.7 million against Rs 1.44 billion it was supposed to pay for using the frequency for six years. The state-owned company said it was not in a position to pay such a high fee due to the late commercial launch of service and subsequent losses.
Ncell is also gearing up to pay the fee for the period starting after the commercial launch of the service. Ncell launched the 3G service on September 15, 2010, and NT on March 4, 2010.
However, the new policy— Telecommunications Radio Frequency Distribution and Pricing Policy 2012—requires both companies to pay the fee from time they were assigned the spectrum, according to NT A. Based on the new policy, NT and Ncell have to pay Rs 240 million each year for the 3G spectrum.
“We paid the 3G fee for the period starting March 4, 2010, to the last fiscal year-end,” said Guna Kesari Pradhan, spokesperson for NT . She added they paid only Rs 488.7 million as per the decision of NT board.
In 2006, NT A assigned 2X10 MHz 3G frequency to NT . The company started trial 3G service in 2007 for the first time in South Asia. It said although it received the spectrum about seven years ago, the service could not get the market until 2010 due to small market size and expensive service and handsets.
On the other hand, Ncell was assigned 2X10 MHz 3G spectrum in 2007. The company said it will calculate and pay the spectrum free for the period starting after the launch of its 3G service commercially.
“We are preparing to pay the first installment of the 3G frequency fee on Monday,” said Sanju Koirala, corporate communications director at Ncell . She added the remaining fee would be cleared before the NT A-set deadline — mid-February, 2013.
NT ’s calculation shows Ncell has to pay Rs 1.20 billion for five years starting 2007-08 to last fiscal year. However, Ncell said with spectrum not being used for commercial purpose for a long time, there was still room for talks on the fee.
NT A officials said with the policy clearly mentioning the rate, both the operators have to pay all payable fees for the 3G spectrum.
“If telecom companies do not clear the fee within mid-Feb, they will have to face two percent fine,” said Ananda Raj Khanal, director at NT A.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
