KATHMANDU, Jan 8: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has given telecom service providers until Feb 12 (Falgun 1) to reduce the interconnection fees that they charge their subscribers and comply with the maximum charges allowed by it.
NTA spokesperson Kailash Neupane said at a press conference Thursday that the body had issued the Interconnection Guidelines that contained the new interconnection fees effective from May 1, 2008. "But the service providers have repeatedly ignored our directive," he said, adding that NTA had, on December 6 last year, issued letters directing the providers to submit a copy of their agreements with each other to NTA within seven days. This too had been ignored, Neupane added.
Neupane said NTA had finally set Feb 12 as the deadline for the providers – Nepal Telecom Company Ltd, United Telecom Limited, Spice Nepal Pvt Ltd and STM Telecom Sanchar Pvt Ltd – to follow the new guidelines. This interconnection guideline was previously announced to be effective from Baisakh 19 (May 1, 2008).
Accordingly, the new maximum interconnection rates that a provider can charge its subscribers for a local call from fixed line, mobile line or limited mobility line to fixed line is 14 paisa; from fixed line or limited mobility line to mobile line is 54 paisa; and from fixed line or limited mobility line to limited mobility line is 34 paisa. The regulatory telecom body has also set different maximum charges for call between different districts or different charging areas. Currently, the telecoms are charging between Re 1 and Rs 1.25 for interconnection which will be cut doen to a maximum of 54 paisa.
Meanwhile, NTA Chairman Bheshraj Kandel said that the service providers were free to charge each other any rate they wanted but the rate that they could charge their subscribers could not exceed the rate fixed in the guideline. Neupane said that if the providers did not conform to the guidelines after the final deadline, then NTA would start proceedings to take action against them.
The actions could be anything between a fine, order to temporarily halt services or even revoking of their service licenses.
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