As per the newly implemented Radio Frequency Policy 2012, operators must pay (Nepal Telecom and Ncell) Rs 240 million a year for using 2 X 10 MHz of 3G spectrum on yearly basis from the year the service was launched. Ncell owed a total of Rs 1.20 billion to Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA) - the telecom sector regulator -- as 3G frequency fee for 2007-2012 period.[break]
“We have paid 3G frequency fee, including the fee for current fiscal year, and also cleared other outstanding dues,” Milan Sharma, corporate communication expert at Ncell, said.
The other dues include 2G frequency fee, according to Sharma.
NTA on November 22 asked Ncell and Nepal Telecom (NT) to clear their outstanding dues till last fiscal year within three months. Although the NTA instruction requires the operators to clear the fee till the last fiscal year only, Ncell has made payment for the current fiscal year as well.
NT on the other hand has paid only Rs 480 million as 3G frequency fee. The regulator had asked the state-owned operator to pay Rs 1.44 billion as 3G frequency fee for 2006-2012 period. NT, however, paid only the partial amount, stating that it started commercial operation of 3G service in 2010 only.
NTA had assigned 3G frequency to Ncell on July, 2007. It had allocated 3G frequency to NT in 2006. However, both the operators started commercial operation of 3G after three years of obtaining the license and frequency.
In a letter to NTA, Ncell has stated that although it has paid the fee respecting the government rule, it requests the authority to review the policy stating that the rate of the frequency fee before and after the commercial launch should be different. Ncell has further stated that it was hopeful that the amount it paid would be adjusted in the future considering the date of commercial launch of the service.
The current policy requires the operators to pay the fixed price as spectrum fee unless the government sets new fee for spectrum through auction.
Related story
Ncell wins auction to use residual spectrum in 1800 MHz band
