Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Federal Ministry for Information & Technology have initiated the license renewal policy for telecom operators.
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, also constituted a committee to review the report and policy by PTA for the best interests of the country and telecom industry.
Committed Members are Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Hafeez Sheikh, State Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar, Advisor to Prime Minister Abdul Razzak Dawood and the Federal Minister for Privatization Mian Mohammad Soomro.
“The renewal of license and associated spectrum at the end of a license period will be as per the policy of the government. In case of renewal of licenses, PTA will make recommendations to the federal government within the timelines stipulated in the respective licenses,” PTA said in a statement.
The government expects that the new license renewal policy can generate an income of Rs. 2 billion approx. This reflects why the federal government is so serious about the renewal.
Three leading telecom operators, Warid, Zong and Telenor Pakistan approached PTA under the license clause of 1.2.2 for renewal of the license. Zong and Warid have given their consent without any condition; however, Telenor, on the other hand, has proposed some changes in the process including terms & payment issues.
Few industry sources also believe that the government responded late to the matter despite the fact that it was known the license for three operators is expiring in 2019. These three cellular companies were awarded licenses for a period of 15 years in 2004.
I believe soon, all the network operators get their renewal process and With the resolving of this license renewal issue, the anxiety will start decreasing among Telecom Operators on delaying License Renewal. They will keep providing services to the clients in our country.
