NTA Spokesperson Kailash Prasad Neupane said NTA - the telecom regulator -- has been asking NT to return the temporary frequency for the last six months, but to no avail.
NTA had temporarily allowed NT to use 4.8 Mhz bandwidth frequency in 900 Mhz. Now, NTA has asked NT to return the frequency within three months.
The decision to allocate NT´s temporary frequency to Smart Telecom is likely to heighten tension between NT and the telecom regulator.
Smart Telecom can get permission to operate mobile service after expanding its services to 100 Village Development Committees.
The mobile service operators need to extend the number of Base Tower Stations (BTS) after reducing the number of frequencies. The extension of BTS is necessary for the quality in mobile communication.
According to NTA officials, NT is occupying a huge number of frequencies most of which are not utilized by it. However, NT officials claim that it largest telecom operator is the country is utilizing all the frequencies.
NT has received 45 Mhz frequency from NTA, while private player Spice Telecom has 19 Mhz of temporary frequencies. Spice has requested NTA to convert all temporary frequencies into permanent ones.
“Spice´s temporary frequencies can be converted into permanent ones, if its meets criteria on subscribers and revenue within two years,” a source at NTA said.
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