Finally, internet service providers (ISPs) can proceed with their license renewal after they reach their 25 years of service. This comes after the government gave its approval for the amendment to the Telecommunication Regulations, 2054.
The move has immediate beneficiaries. Because of this amendment, private ISP WorldLink has received its new license which surpassed its 25-year permit in Chaitra 2080. At the same time, Mercantile Communication is also without an active operating license for the same reason. So, it could also be on the line to get its license renewal.
The new provision in general facilitates the process for all the Nepali ISPs. Nepal has a strict provision that a communication service provider gets a validity of a maximum of 25 years. But so far, there has been no clear policy as to what happens after a service provider reaches 25 years. Now, that has been addressed.
Earlier, the Ministry of Communication, Information, and Technology (MoCIT) submitted a proposal to the cabinet to amend the regulations as per suggestions from the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA). According to the sources close to the MoCIT, the proposal had been approved before Dashain though the government hasn’t made it public.
“The ministry (MoCIT) had sent a proposal for the amendment of Telecommunication Regulations, 2054 which has arrived at the ministry again after its approval,” the source said. The decision has also been published in the Nepali Gazette (Rajpatra).
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Government Allows License Renewal of ISPs under new provisions
NTA sources mention that the new provision has it that ISPs can renew their license every five years not exceeding 25 years in total. But there won’t be any facility for installment-basis payment for the license renewal fee. The service provider must pay the entire fee in one lump sum.
The government has taken a hard approach to license renewal. Recently, Nepal Telecom received its GSM mobile license license after having to pay Rs 20 billion as a lump sum. Ncell, on the other hand, was given an installment facility late after the government’s initial hesitation.
WorldLink and Mercantile are both ISPs while Nepal Telecom and Ncell are telecom operators. NT has received its new license for GSM mobile service. Ncell, on the other hand, received it for another five years in five installment payments. Likewise, the amendment will help the likes of Vianet and Subisu with their license renewal as well.
Nepal’s Telecommunication Act Section 25 strictly holds that a company a communication service provider can get its license for up to 25 years with the first license renewal provisioned for 10 years and the remaining getting 5 years of extension. Besides this rigid regulation, discussions have also strengthened over recent years regarding the license renewal fee. Many have argued that the telecom policy is outdated and doesn’t correspond with the scenario in the industry. It seems that the government is slowly and gradually paying its attention to these voices.
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What do you think of the government finally letting an amendment make it easy for ISPs to ensure their license renewal? Is this 25-year license too conservative? Do share your input in the comments box below.
