The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued a Long Distance International (LDI) license to one more company.
The Authority has issued an LDI license to a local company named Dynasty Telcom (Private) Ltd.
According to the PTA, an LDI license has been issued to Dynasty Telcom after the fulfillment of all the legal requirements. The company has submitted a $0.5 million license fee and $10 million bank guarantees for the laying of a 1,500 km optical fiber cable.
This year, PTA has issued the third LDI license. Earlier Zeta Technologies (Private) Ltd. got an LDI license in January whereas HG Telecommunication (Private) Ltd. got an LDI license in February this year. Despite the LDI license being issued to the new company, the number of LDI operators in the country remains 19.
According to the PTA, any company has 18 months to start operations after getting the license from the authority. After 18 months, PTA teams review the company’s equipment as per the checklist and submit a report to the authority. In light of this report, the authority issues a Commencement of Operations Certificate, after which the company is allowed to start operations.
No clearance was required for the registration as the company is local and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). Clearance from the Ministry of Interior is mandatory for international firms or companies with foreign directors.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority opened the LDI license last year after a gap of eight years. In 2006, the Cabinet Committee on Regulatory Bodies (CCRB) imposed a watch hold on the issuance of Mobile, Local Loop (LL), and LDI licenses for seven years. The watch hold expired on 22 March 2013, and as a result, an LDI license was issued to China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak). After issuing a license to CMPak, the issuance of the LDI license was suspended again.
Source: Pro Pakistani
