ISLAMABAD ( ABRAR MUSTAFA )
The ongoing rift among telecom companies and Government of Pakistan on license renewal fees has deepened.
Telecom companies have refused to pay 450 million dollars for license renewal fees that the government has recently demanded from each company. They have conveyed to the government that that they are willing to pay 40 billion rupees since the license fees at the time of auction was 291 million dollars (valued at 17 billion rupees). And today with the current exchange rate, it equals 40 billion rupees.
In response to this, the government created a high-level committee that included senior officials from Ministry of IT, Ministry of Finance, Pakistan Telecom Authority and other pertinent ministries. The committee also agreed with the demand of government for 450 million dollars.
This has aggravated the situation and it is highly probable that telecom companies might take a legal action against this demand of the government.
Zong jazz and Telenor have renewal this year. This has been demanded considering all three telecom entities started to operate in Pakistan 15 years ago.
Chances are that if the matter is not resolved amicably, Zong might take a legal course of action.