The government is killing smart telecoms that have customers and cannot operate services
By Rabindra Dhungel, 23 september 2020. The government is going to undertake (kill) the telecom companies that have customers and cannot operate services. The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTAA) has initiated the necessary legal process to kill the bankrupt telecom company.
It is said that NEA has taken this process forward especially regarding the issue of smart telecom. The company will have to pay Rs 1.95 billion to the government in the form of royalties, frequencies, renewals, etc. by mid-August last year.
Earlier, the NEA had decided to revoke the license of the company saying that Smart Telecom had not paid the dues to the government within the stipulated time. However, the decision of NEA was reversed by the Council of Ministers meeting held on May 6.
The government had given the facility to pay the arrears of Rs 2.32 billion in five installments till mid-August last year. According to the decision, Smart had to repay the first installment by mid-July and the remaining four installments each fiscal year.
But the company could not even pay the prescribed installment amount. On top of that, Smart has also added Rs.