Telecom regulator under scanner
KATHMANDU:
Sub-committee of Public Accounts Committee under Legislature Parliament is concerned over the recent decision of Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) that has proposed to allow existing and new telecom operators to operate almost all types of telecom services with a single licence.
“The subcommittee has taken the issue seriously and will reach into the conclusion after discussion with concerned stakeholders,” subcommittee member Rabindra Adhikari said, adding that the sub-committee is likely to hold discussion within three days.
In the latest series of dispute, Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA has proposed Ministry of Information and Communication to grant the license to operate all telecom services charging a license fee of Rs 295 million. The authority has dubbed it ‘unified licensing policy’.
The amount of the license fee is even lower than the authority’s earlier proposal fixed forth four years ago.
“The authority has no right to hurt the government coffer,” another sub-committee member said. The government appointed broad members and other responsible officials to assist government but not to hurt its coffer, he claimed.
“Now, it seems that the authority had deliberately made the previous decisions,” he claimed, saying that now the concerned office-bearers at the authority cannot furnish justification on it.
The authority dared to forward such proposal at a time when there is a massive concern and dispute over the frequency issue along with its licensing policy, the subcommittee member said, adding that it is committed to bring all responsible officials under scanner.
In an interesting twist to the frequency distribution episode, the authority had on August 9 recommended the Ministry of Information and Communication to amend the Article 23 (2) of Telecommunication Act 1997 Act with the provision of letting telecom service providers to operate integrated telecom service in Rs 295 million.
The authority has recommended the ministry to amend the law based on the recommendation provided by Gyanendra Man Baidhya, the authority source said.
However, the Malla-led committee was the second of similar kind of committee. Earlier, a committee led by Baburam Pokharel had also submitted the report on the same issue.
The sub-committee is planning to unearth the motives of Nepal Telecommunications Authority’s officials behind such decisions since it is investigating frequency row and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) issue, Adhikari pledged, without elaborating what kind of action will the sub-committee recommend against the authority’s concerned officials.
Source: THT
Sub-committee of Public Accounts Committee under Legislature Parliament is concerned over the recent decision of Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) that has proposed to allow existing and new telecom operators to operate almost all types of telecom services with a single licence.
“The subcommittee has taken the issue seriously and will reach into the conclusion after discussion with concerned stakeholders,” subcommittee member Rabindra Adhikari said, adding that the sub-committee is likely to hold discussion within three days.
In the latest series of dispute, Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA has proposed Ministry of Information and Communication to grant the license to operate all telecom services charging a license fee of Rs 295 million. The authority has dubbed it ‘unified licensing policy’.
The amount of the license fee is even lower than the authority’s earlier proposal fixed forth four years ago.
“The authority has no right to hurt the government coffer,” another sub-committee member said. The government appointed broad members and other responsible officials to assist government but not to hurt its coffer, he claimed.
“Now, it seems that the authority had deliberately made the previous decisions,” he claimed, saying that now the concerned office-bearers at the authority cannot furnish justification on it.
The authority dared to forward such proposal at a time when there is a massive concern and dispute over the frequency issue along with its licensing policy, the subcommittee member said, adding that it is committed to bring all responsible officials under scanner.
In an interesting twist to the frequency distribution episode, the authority had on August 9 recommended the Ministry of Information and Communication to amend the Article 23 (2) of Telecommunication Act 1997 Act with the provision of letting telecom service providers to operate integrated telecom service in Rs 295 million.
The authority has recommended the ministry to amend the law based on the recommendation provided by Gyanendra Man Baidhya, the authority source said.
However, the Malla-led committee was the second of similar kind of committee. Earlier, a committee led by Baburam Pokharel had also submitted the report on the same issue.
The sub-committee is planning to unearth the motives of Nepal Telecommunications Authority’s officials behind such decisions since it is investigating frequency row and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) issue, Adhikari pledged, without elaborating what kind of action will the sub-committee recommend against the authority’s concerned officials.
Source: THT
