NTA Open Licenses to Provide Telecom Infrastructure Service

All interested firms can now vie to provide telecommunications infrastructure service as Nepal Telecommunications Authority(NTA) has opened licenses for infrastructure provision in Nepal. NTA takes this to be a step forward in promoting the sharing of telecom infrastructures.

In a public notice, NTA asked for proposals (RfP) from interested and eligible firms (both domestic and foreign) to provide telecommunications infrastructure service in the country. Though any foreign company applying should have 20 percent share of a domestic firm to be eligible for the license.

Initially two firms will be awarded the licenses.

This is the first government initiative of this sort to take effect.

Spokesperson for NTA, Min Prasad Aryal, said that NTA is gearing up to issue the telecommunications infrastructure service license as per the Telecommunications Infrastructure Regulation 2017. This has been envisioned to promote telecommunications infrastructure sharing in the country and reduce the cost of telecommunications services.

In the present situation, telecom companies in Nepal are developing infrastructure themselves as required. This has directly affected the consumers making such services more expensive. This has also made it difficult for the telecom operators to fully utilize their infrastructures.

The firm acquiring the license will have to develop relevant telecommunications infrastructure mostly in rural areas and allow telecom service providers to use the infrastructures to deliver telecom services.

Aryal said, “The joint use of telecommunications infrastructure will provide financial relief to the service providers, which will ultimately help bring down telecommunications service cost in Nepal.”

Telecom operators can jointly use the telecom infrastructure with NTA by paying a certain amount.

All interested firms should submit their applications within December 17.