Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has received Rs. 19.39 billion as the third installment of license renewal fee from two cellular mobile operators: Telenor Pakistan and Pakistan Mobile Communication Ltd (Jazz).
Total deposits by PTA in FCF reach Rs. 102 Billion
The handout published by PTA said; The third installment of the license renewal fee has been deposited in Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF). With this deposit, the total deposits by PTA in FCF during the current financial year i.e. 2021-22 have become Rs. 102.5 Billion (equivalent to USD 577 Million).”
The government had approved the renewal of licenses of two mobile operators, i.e. Jazz and Telenor Pakistan at around $450 million each. In May 2021, the second installment of the renewal fee, Rs15.82 billion, was received from two Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) — Telenor Pakistan and Pakistan Mobile Communication Ltd. (Jazz). The amount was also deposited in FCF as per practice under Pakistan Telecom Re-organization Act, 1996.
The delay in the license renewal fee of both CMOs
Due to a stay order by IHC, the collection of the renewal fee from two telecom companies has been delayed. On August 21, the IHC directed Telenor and Jazz to deposit 50 percent of the license renewal fee, i.e. around Rs36 billion each in two weeks as a guarantee until the final decision on the appeal of both cellular operators. Previously, the operators disagreed with the PTA’s decision on fixing the license renewal fee and requested for grant of stay order to avoid service disruption in the country after August 21, 2019 – the date fixed by the PTA for renewal of licenses.
However, PTA rejected mobile operators’ apprehensions relating to the price of license renewal and passed an order, while fixing the fee for license renewal at $39.5 million per MHz for a frequency spectrum of 900MHz and $29.5 million per MHz for a frequency spectrum of 1800 MHz. As per PTA, the renewed license carries enhanced terms and conditions for coverage and quality of service, as established during the recent Pakistan spectrum auction.
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