NTA decides to stop service of UTL
KATHMANDU,JAN 3:
Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) — the regulator of telecom service providers — today asked Ministry of Information and Communications to stop service of United Telecom Ltd (UTL).
The regulator has written a letter to the ministry also seeking the help of Home Ministry for ‘service stopage’ of the telecom service provider that has failed to clear its outstanding royalty dues.
However, the regulator had earlier said that it will scrap licence according to its March 24, 2011 decision. “The March 24 decision is the final decision,” the board meeting of the authority decided today.
On March 24, the NTA had directed UTL to clear its dues of around Rs 896 million with a warning that the company’s operating licence would be scrapped, if it failed to clear dues within 35 days. “But its royalty dues has reached Rs 952.16 million by now,” according to the regulator.
After the regulator’s directive, the UTL had moved to Appellate Committee under the Ministry of Information and Communications protesting regulator’s decision.
“In September the Appellate Committee gave its final verdict in favour of the regulator, which has also informed the ministry asking for its help to collect outstanding royalty dues in December,” board member of Nepal Telecommunications Authority Girindra Raj Adhikari said, adding that the authority will not roll back from its decision this time.
“It is necessary to close all the services of UTL including basic telecom services, STD, ISD and lease line according to the authority’s March 24 decision,” Adhikari said. “So, the authority today requested the ministry to direct Home Ministry for ‘service stopage’ of all the services of UTL.”
The board has also planned to adjust the service holders after the ‘service stopage’. “UTL has some 588,307 subscribers until mid-November,” he said, adding, “Of the total, only 70,000 consumers will face problems, if the service is stopped.”
Pre-paid phone users will be shifted to another service provider and only post-paid and lease service users will be affected, Adhikari added. “The authority is preparing a detail plan to adjust the service subscribers and state’s role after UTL’s service closure.”
The authority today also decided to ask Ministry of Information and Communication to ask tax administration under Finance Ministry to collect royalty dues, he informed.
Source: THT
