New spectrum policy to be reviewed following moans

KATHMANDU, JAN 16 -The government has agreed to review its newly introduced spectrum policy bowing to pressure from telecom companies. The Ministry of Information and Communications has begun taking a second look at the spectrum policy after Nepal Telecom (NT) and Nepal Satellite Telecom (NST) complained about it.

The ministry had unveiled the new policy entitled Telecommuni-cations Radio Frequency Distribution and Pricing Policy 2012 in November with a focus on auctioning spectrum, bringing more 3G service providers, issuing unified licences and collecting 3G spectrum fees from NT and Ncell. Not long after, telecom companies demanded that the government review the policy as it requires them to pay a higher spectrum fee and limits spectrum allocation.

A source at the Communications Ministry said that the plan was to get feedback for a year and modify the policy accordingly instead of enforcing it strictly. “The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) is set to call a meeting of telecom companies soon to discuss problems related to the policy,” the source added.


The NTA has not been able to implement the new provision regarding frequency due to objections by NT over the 3G spectrum fee. The new policy requires NT and Ncell to pay Rs 240 million annually for the 2X10 MHz 3G spectrum being used by them. Based on this rate, NT and Ncell have to pay Rs 1.44 billion and Rs 1.20 billion respectively as spectrum fee to operate their 3G service. The Communications Ministry said that it was normal among service providers to voice their concerns, if any, regarding the new policy. “If their issues are genuine, we can present them to the Radio Frequency Policy Determination Committee for a solution,” said Surya Prasad Silwal, secretary at the ministry. The 17th meeting of the committee headed by Communications Minister Raj Kishor Yadav had endorsed the new policy on Nov 4 last year.

Another issue over which the policy has been criticised is restriction on spectrum hoarding. According to the NTA, NT and NST have been hoarding additional spectrum in the CDMA and GSM bands respectively. Under the new rule, NT and NST would have to return the extra spectrum they have been holding. NTA director Ananda Raj Khanal said that the policy could be reviewed if it has created a negative impact on the telecom sector and the operators’ demands are legitimate. He added that NT had a point as, according to the policy, it would have to pay more in fees to the government than what it earns from the service.

NT, which started South Asia’s first 3G service, has been saying that it would not be able to pay the 3G fee as prescribed by the policy. It has formally notified the regulatory body and the ministry in this regard and asked for a review of the “time and pricing”. NT officials said that it was not justifiable for it to pay Rs 240 million annually from the time the service began.