Islamabad, Sep 9: The Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom was alerted on Monday the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to the possibility of severe network outages and problems should the licenses of Long Distance International (LDI) businesses not be renewed.
If foreign companies cease operations owing to non-payment of outstanding dues, PTA authorities stated it would take a long time to rebuild the network. They added that insufficient capacity exists even for Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) to handle the ensuing deficit.
Major General (R) Hafeezur Rehman, the chairman of the PTA, informed the committee that although several LDI businesses had filed legal challenges, five of them were willing to pay their dues.
These businesses’ licenses were scheduled to expire in July or August, and there are presently about fifteen court cases that are pending.
Chairman PTA admitted that businesses were permitted to make payments in installments back in 2020. But this year, the same respite isn’t available.
The committee discussed the LDI firms’ request for an exemption of Rs. 54 billion. It was mentioned that the former IT Secretary had issued a policy directive on the subject, but officials from the IT Ministry objected, arguing that the former secretary had no jurisdiction over it.
The head of the Senate committee questioned the legality of their position, to which the ministry responded that the former secretary’s name had appeared in numerous cases of corruption.
A senator issued a warning, stating that major network disruptions might result from stopping the LDI company’s operations.
