NTA receives Rs 1.73 billion in RTDF

KATHMANDU:

The government has received a contribution of Rs 1.73 billion in the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund (RTDF) from telecom companies and internet service providers (ISPs) from their income in the last

fiscal year 2013-14. This is an increase by 30 per cent compared to the contribution made in the previous fiscal 2012-13.

As per the Telecommunication Act 1997, all companies that are issued licence by Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) have to contribute two per cent of their annual income to the fund. And, it has to be paid within first quarter of each fiscal year based on income made in the previous fiscal year.

The fund has been established for the development of rural telecom. NTA statistics show that it collected Rs 1.33 billion as RTDF fee in fiscal year 2012-13. NTA officials said that after the companies paid two per cent from their income last year, the size of the fund has

increased to Rs 9.52 billion.

“If we include the interest being earned from commercial banks, the fund reaches around Rs 10 billion,” said Surya Lamichhane, assistant director at NTA. The growth is supported by increased income of telecom companies like Ncell and Nepal Telecom. Based on the RTDF fee collected by NTA, it can be deduced that licensees had registered a combined income of Rs 86.5 billion in the last fiscal year, up from the previous fiscal year’s Rs 66.5 billion. Ncell has paid Rs 968.3 million and NT contributed Rs 700 million, according to NTA.

All six telecom companies and a majority of ISPs paid the RTDF fee by mid-November (end of first quarter of current fiscal year). Smart Telecom contributed Rs 18.9 million, United Telecom Ltd Rs 9.3 million, STM Sanchar Rs 7.98 million and Nepal Satellite Telecom paid Rs 2.42 million.

In the ISP category, Subisu Cable Net paid Rs 9.5 million, while World Link Communications contributed Rs eight million. According to NTA, many small ISPs failing to pay the RTDF fee will be imposed fines as per RTDF Bylaw 2012 which has a provision of imposing a 25-200 per cent fine depending on the delay in making the payment. ISPs including Nepal Net Sanchar, Otel and Nepal Wireless have not paid the fee and some of them have refused to contribute stating that they made ‘no income’ in last fiscal.

Meanwhile, NTA officials are hopeful of utilising the RTDF’s resource to develop the telecom sector in rural areas from the current fiscal year. Despite a number of plans, the telecom regulator had failed to implement them in the absence of a chairman to make policy level decisions for nearly the last two years. Recently, the Supreme Court validated the appointment of Digambar Jha as chairman of NTA, who also leads a committee to use the fund. An official at NTA said that the fund will be used in projects like ‘Connect a School, Connect a Community’ and district optical fibre from this year.

Source: THT