PTA issues new deadline to WLL licencees | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

PTA issues new deadline to WLL licencees

KARACHI: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has asked Wireless Local Loop licencees to roll out their networks in the allocated regions until March 20 in order to avoid their licenses cancelled.

The regulator authority has ordered two WLL license holders, Super dialogue and Metroltel, recently to establish their obligatory infrastructure in the licensed regions on the new deadline after they failed to commence mandatory operations.

PTA has granted license to these operators in November 2004 to establish, maintain and operate a Telecommunication System in Gujrawala and Rawalpindi and Telecom Regions.

Each licensee was obliged to establish at least one Network Connection Point in each licensed region and commence the provision of Mandatory Services within eighteen (18) months from the effective date i.e. the date of issuance of the license. This is the third deadline extended by the telecom watchdog. Earlier, it has asked these two licencees for rolling out their network within the specified time period keeping in view the difficulties of networking deployment has been faced by firms. However, the authority issued show-cause notices to these two operators in August 2009 for the failure of compliances.

In reply to PTA, WLL license holders said the spectrum fees and recurring annual charges caused the delay in the operations but established their networks and installed equipments in many parts of the telecom region.

They said the network operations are underway and projects entered in the final phase. The major problem exists in interconnectivity operations, which the service-provider has failed to render them. PTA has conducted inspections of WLL firms sites having infrastructure laid down and resolved WLLs’ issues with services providers on interconnections. It warned WLL licencees to complete their mandatory operations within the new deadline, otherwise the authority will withdraw their unused spectrum bands and licenses. muhammad yasir
Source: Daily Times
Date:2/27/2010