KATHMANDU, May 10: Nepal Telecom (NTC) has paid Rs 20 billion to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) to renew its operating license. This payment covers the renewal fee and was made before the expiration of NTC’s current license.

With the license period of NTC expiring Friday, Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma submitted the proposal to the Council of Ministers to approve the license renewal on Thursday. The Cabinet reviewed the proposal on Thursday, a day before the license expiration.

A 25-year tenure of NTC was set to expire on May 10. Under the existing provisions, license extensions cannot exceed 10 years at a time.

As the NTC’s license would expire from Saturday, the Cabinet meeting on Friday is set to extend the license period, according to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. However, the license renewal process is set to begin under a new framework.

The NTC had submitted an application to the NTA ahead of the expiration date. However, the NTA had indicated that it could not process the renewal without either an amendment to its governing act or a government decision authorizing the extension.  

Minister Rekha Sharma had previously assured that the license would be renewed if NTC paid its arrears of the renewal fee.