Nepal Telecommunications Authority or NTA is planning to revoke the license of Smart Telecom. Since Smart Telecom has failed to pay the license cost, it seems fair that the license is being withdrawn. There have also been some rumors that suggest the frequency will be taken over by CG Telecom after the license is officially annulled. Here, we will discuss the license revoke process of Smart Telecom.
Smart Telecom License Revoke
Why?
Smart Telecom has a lot of amounts due to pay and this is not the first time it has delayed the regular payment to NTA. In 2076 Shrawan 13, Nepal Telecommunication Authority was all ready to revoke its license. However, it was canceled since Smart Telecom appealed to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MoCIT) which made them allow the network company pays the amount in five installments. But, Smart Telecom hasn’t paid a single amount which is not being acted against.
The company had till January 14 to pay Rs. 59.88 crores but hasn’t been active in doing so. In total, it will have to pay 1.25 billion to get its license renewed again. This is the reason why its license is being revoked by the NTA. The following table shows the total amount company owes NTA.
| Installment | Due Amount |
| 1st installment | Rs. 59.98 crores |
| 2nd installment | Rs. 83.23 crores |
| 3rd installment | Rs. 77.40 crores |
| 4th installment | Rs. 75.56 crores |
| 5th installment | Rs. 65.72 crores |
What does NTA have to say on this?
The chairman of NTA, Purushottam Khanal says that there will an opportunity for Smart Telecom to clear the issue before starting the cancellation process. However, the company should be able to do it very soon since the process is just about to begin this time.
What’s next?
After the license of Smart Telecom gets revoked, we have no idea what will be NTA’s further actions. However, there have been some rumors that suggest CG will take over to the 900MHz frequency in the 10MHz band and 1800MHz frequency in the 24MHz which is now under Smart Telecom. CG hasn’t been able to receive the license, yet which means this might be the chance for the company.
Also Read: – Nepal Telecom has finally received the NTA approval for the new 5G trial spectrums
