Speaking at the 8th General Convention of Telecommunication Employees´ Association Nepal (TEAN), trade union leaders affiliated to various political parties also urged the senior ministry officials, including its secretary, not to exert ´such undue pressure´.[break]
"The upcoming projects of NT will be affected if the operator pays such a huge amount all at once," said Ashok Kumar Karna, president of TEAN. He urged the government to allow the NT pay renewal fee on installment basis, referring to a provision of the newly adopted policy of the MoIC that pledges such a facility to the operator.
The government has been pressing the NT to pay the renewal fee mainly after private operator Ncell in November formally informed the MoIC that it would start clearing the renewal fee from January, 2013 on installment basis.
“Exerting pressure on NT to pay renewal fee just because the private operator committed to pay fee makes no sense,” Karna said.
Going by the licensing conditions, NT and Ncell are required to renew their operating licenses after 10 years of starting their services.
The two-day general convention of TEAN will elect a new executive committee on Thursday.
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