Though the Interconnection Guidelines 2008 for international call termination issued by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), of which Nepal is a member, suggested member countries to cut rates, NTA has refrained from complying with the guidelines. [break]
"Unfortunately, this has helped the illegal VoIP operators to mushroom," said advocate Bimal Dhakal at a program.
According to Dhakal, Nepal presently charges above Rs 4.50 per minute for every call made to Nepal via international call gateway, whereas international guidelines the rate comes less than Rs 1.50.
"No wonder, this has rendered calls made through formal channel expensive, encouraging the use of illegal channel," said he stated.
Lawmaker Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, who also heads the sub-committee formed to probe cases of illegal VoIP and frequency issue, criticized NTA for not taking appropriate steps to check anomalies in the market.
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