KATHMANDU, JUL 08 -The Nepal Telecommunications Authority ( NTA ) has decided to forget protocol and submit its programme for fiscal 2013-14 to the Ministry of Information and Communications for its approval.
As per the Telecommunications Act, the NTA board has to approve the yearly programme and send it to the ministry for its go-ahead. However, the ad hoc board has not been able to hold a meeting and reach a decision for more than two months as its legitimacy is being examined by the Supreme Court.
“We are sticking our neck out as the new fiscal year starts next week, and we do not have any programme yet,” said a high-level NTA official. He added that even though the board members would not hold a meeting, they have agreed informally to send the plan to the ministry.
The NTA has been hamstrung with every one of its decisions running into controversy, especially after its contentious decision to award a unified licence to Smart Telecom last April. Since the board has not been able to function, the NTA ’s operations have been affected. It has not been able to renew the licences of internet service providers (ISPs), issue new ISP licences, approve the tariffs of telecom and internet companies and implement its annual plan effectively.
After the issue of Digambar Jha’s appointment as chairman was dragged into court, the Communications Ministry had formed an ad hoc board with four members to make policy-level decisions. It was formed on the basis of clause 60 of the Telecommunications Act that allows the government to remove difficulties and hurdles in its implementation. However, the board has not been able to function as a case related to it is being discussed in court, said NTA director Ananda Raj Khanal.
The regulator of the telecom industry has been grappling with more than half a dozen court cases related to Jha’s appointment, unified licence and spectrum policy. In addition, the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has been breathing down its neck over suspected irregularities in the distribution of unified licence and telecom spectrum.
The NTA ’s draft annual programme has the district optical fibre project at the top of the list. The draft also includes projects like taking broadband internet to government schools and colleges by using resources available in the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund (RTDF) under the Connect A School, Connect A Community project. Procuring automated drive test equipment for Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring of the telecom service is another major item in the programme.
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