The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) anticipates a significant investment in Long Distance International licenses after receiving 12 applications in less than a month.
According to the news, the PTA has begun assessing applications, and the process might take more than a month to complete. Applicants will be called before the PTA evaluation committee for a discussion of their technical and business proposals.
The company’s telecommunication history, estimated revenues, operating expenses, capital requirements, and initial five-year business plan will also be examined by the committee.
The authority will also look at the committed financial resources, such as the amounts of equity and debt financing that is needed to fund the business plan.
PTA issues a Long Distance and International (LDI) license for the provision of end-to-end communication between Pakistani and non-Pakistani sites.
Long-distance voice and data services are available to licensees. The LDI license fee is $500,000, and it is valid for a period of 20 (twenty) years. The license can be renewed for the next term after it has expired.
After an eight-year gap, PTA announced the reopening of the LDI licenses on January 5, 2022. On court decisions, the last LDI license was given to CMPak LDI Ltd in 2013.
There are currently 14 LDI operators in the country, with the number anticipated to quadruple in one and a half months assuming all applicants meet PTA standards.
According to the new licensing term, every LDI operator must install 1500 kilometers of cable to the towers in six years. It will aid with fiberization, which is a key prerequisite of 5G because only 8-10% of towers are now connected to fibers.
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