PTA Receives Third Installment of License Renewal Fee From Two CMOs

In 2019, the licenses of two major Cellular Mobile Operators, Telenor, and Jazz expired. After which they were asked by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to renew their licenses for around $450 Million each. However, the CMOs weren’t able to pay the money instantly and took a stay order from the Islamabad High Court (IHC). However, after a short period of time, the CMOs paid half of the amount as per the directives of the court and got their licenses renewed. The remaining money was to be paid in installments. The PTA had earlier acquired $103.17 million as the second installment of license renewal fee from two CMOs.

PTA Receives Third Installment of License Renewal Fee From Two CMOs

Now, recently, PTA has received  $98.49 million from two CMOs (Telenor and Jazz) as the third installment of license renewal fee. The deposit has been made to the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF).

With this deposit, PTA’s total deposits in FCF for the current fiscal year, 2021-22, amount to $577 million. PTA received the money in accordance with the Pakistan Telecom Reorganization Act of 1996.

CMOs wanted a stay order to prevent service disruptions after August 21, 2019 – the date set by the PTA for the renewal of licenses. This is when the court ordered both operators to deposit half of the sum, as a guarantee until a final decision regarding their appeals.

Apart from it, PTA dismissed the concerns of mobile operators on the price of license renewal and issued an order setting the renewal charge at $39.5 million per MHz for 900MHz frequency spectrum and $29.5 million per MHz for 1800MHz frequency spectrum.

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