The Way To Renew The License Of Internet Service Providers Like Worldlink And Mercantile Has Been Opened The way to renew the licenses of Internet service providers like Worldlink Communication and Mercantile Communication, which have completed 25 years, has been opened. By amending the Telecommunication Regulations, 2054, the government has opened the way for renewing the license of service providers.
The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology submitted a proposal to the Council of Ministers to amend the Telecommunication Regulations. Based on the suggestion of the Nepal Telecommunication Authority, the ministry submitted the proposal to the Cabinet about two weeks ago. Although the proposal has been decided by the Council of Ministers meeting held before Dashain, it has not been made public yet.
The Ministry had sent the Telecommunication Regulations, 2054, for amendment,” said a Ministry source. “The decision has been passed by the Council of Ministers and has come to the Ministry. Accordingly, the necessary documents for that have been prepared and published in the gazette.”
Ministry sources did not give any information about what topics are included in the revision of the regulations. However, according to Telecommunication Authority sources, the amendment states that the license period of Internet service providers can be renewed every five years for a maximum of 25 years. However, while renewing in this way, it is stipulated that the service provider should have paid all the dues to the government.
There is no provision in the Telecommunication Act for what to do in case of a 25-year license expiry. In Section 25 of the Act, it is mentioned that the period of the license will be 25 years at most, in which there is a provision that the license will be given for 10 years for the first time, and then it is mentioned that the license must be renewed for five years at a time.
For this purpose, the permit holder who wishes to renew the permit must apply to the authority for the renewal of the permit before the expiration of the permit period, i.e., three months before the renewal fee as agreed by him.
In subsection (1) of Section 33 of the Telecommunications Act, it is mentioned that the land, buildings, devices, equipment, and structures related to telecommunication services where more than 50 percent of the total capital investment is invested by foreign individuals or organizations will be owned by the Government of Nepal after the expiry of the permit period.
Similarly, (2) it is provided that the person who has acquired the property under the ownership of the Government of Nepal in accordance with sub-section (1) can operate telecommunication services by paying the price determined under sub-section (3) to the Government of Nepal and re-obtaining the license. (3) It is stated that for the purpose of determining the price as per sub-section (2), the Government of Nepal may constitute a committee of maximum five persons after consulting the authority.
In this case, in the case of Worldlink, which has less than 50 percent foreign investment, and Mercantile, which has full Nepali investment, there was no provision for the government to take ownership.
In such a situation, the government has cleared the confusion of what will happen to the licenses of Worldlink and Mercantile, which had applied to the authority in the month of Poush 2080 for the renewal of their licenses, and the way for renewal has been opened.
