Mobile service license renewal policy delayed, again

The federal cabinet has once again delayed the approval for the license renewal policy and further constituted a five-member committee for further consideration. Prime Minister Imran Khan conducted the cabinet meeting to consider the policy of cellular mobile licenses in 2019, submitted by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Fawad Chaudhry said that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) under the directives of Prime Minister submitted a report on the renewal of cellular licenses, but being a multi-million dollar transaction, this matter requires further consideration.

But as the government is delaying the process continuously, the concerns of cellular companies are growing as their licenses are due to expire in the current year.

Following are the members of the committee constituted by PM Imran Khan, to review PTA’s report on cellular license policy;

• Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui: Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication.
• Asad Umar: Federal Finance Minister of Pakistan.
• Hammad Azhar: State Minister for Revenue.
• Abdul Razzak Dawood: Advisor to Prime Minister
• Mian Mohammad Soomro: Federal Minister for Privatization

Minister, Dr. Khalid Maqbool said last week that the matter of license renewal has been completed and is waiting for approval from the cabinet. He elaborated that the government issues policy directives to PTA for implementation and would also complete the renewal policy soon.

The minister stated that for every change, new amendments are required in the policy, but he assured that the matter will be resolved on a priority basis. The PTI government with the renewal policy has estimated to generate revenue of around $1.3 billion.