The Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA) has sent a letter to private Nepalese cellco United Telecom (UTL) saying that it may cancel its licence for failing to pay royalty fees, according to local newspaper Republica.
The mobile operator is required to pay an…
The Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA) has sent a letter to private Nepalese cellco United Telecom (UTL) saying that it may cancel its licence for failing to pay royalty fees, according to local newspaper Republica.
The mobile operator is required to pay an annual royalty fee. The current price of the fee has not been disclosed but the newspaper wrote that it will amount to Rs370m (US$8.2m) in 2012/2013.
However, UTL has reportedly not paid any royalty since 2006, meaning the company owes about Rs900m (US$20m) to the government. According to Republica, the NTA informed the company that it would start legal proceedings and impose a Rs500,000 (US$11,000) fine within a week of reception of the letter.
UTL manager Madan Singh was quoted saying that UTL’s financial difficulties stem from the government’s decision to halt its operations for six months in 2005-2006. He reportedly added that the company has sued the government for defamation and asked for compensation.
UTL is a consortium of three Indian telcos – MTNL, TCL and TCIL – and of a Nepalese company, NVPL.
The company and the regulator could not be reached for comment before going to press.
