Pakistani mobile operators Telenor Pakistan and PMCL (Jazz) have made a partial payment of USD 224.6 million and PKR 35.39 billion (approximately USD 224.6 mln), respectively, for their license renewal fee. According to Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA), this partial payment is equivalent to 50 percent of their license fee.
Back in August, Telenor and Jazz agreed to make payments towards renewal of their licences, to avoid the disruption of their mobile services. Jazz agreed to pay around USD 291 million, and Telenor Pakistan announced it would voluntarily pay USD 224.6 million. The operators were expected to make the payments by 21 August or face the withdrawal of their licences. However, they contested the amounts set by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, saying these were unreasonably high.
In July, the PTA set the price of mobile license renewal at USD 39.5 million per MHz for the 900 MHz spectrum and USD 29.5 million per MHz for 1800 MHz spectrum. The payment terms for the renewal fee is 100 percent upfront or 50 percent upfront with the remaining 50 percent in five equal annual installments on LIBOR plus 3 percent.
