Five ISPs face licence cancellation

THE Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) is all set to scarp licences of five internet service providers (ISPs) that have failed to operate service and remained out of contact. The ISPs facing the action are Neptell Global and four rural ISPs — Mandabi Multipurpose Society Development Centre, Samajik Nyayakalagi Sanchar Abhiyan, Pratidhwani Media and Namchhe Network. As pee the NTA provision, licencees have to submit financial reports annually declaring their income. Based on the report, the ISPs are required contribute 2 percent of their annual income to the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund and 4 percent as royalty to the government. Santosh Paudel, deputy director at NTA, said they are facing problems in contacting the ISPs. “Even if we dispatch letters, they come back to us saying the address is not found,” he said. NTA officials said rural ISPs are “dying” because of competition from mobile internet services offered by Nepal Telecom and Ncell. Data services like ADSL and mobile internet have reached to all parts of Nepal and the price too has come down. This has made survival for ISPs very difficult, they said. As of mid-June 2013, over 25 percent population of the country has access to internet. And, ISPs’ market share stand at only 1 percent. There are an estimated four dozen ISPs in operation, but only around 10 are visible in market. Not only rural ISPs, those focused on urban areas too are facing tough time. NTA said if they fail to invest more and provide better and cheaper services, they will “gradually vanish”. Recently, the operating licence of Himal Technologies, an urban marketfocused ISP was scrapped automatically after it did not renew it. Himal, which had its registered office at Jaya Beshwori, went out of contact and did not renew the licence despite repeated notice, according to the NTA. ISPs facing the action are Neptell Global and four rural ISPs—Mandabi Multipurpose Society Development Centre, Samajik Nyayakalagi Sanchar Abhiyan, Pratidhwani Media and Namchhe Network