Privately owned operator Spice Nepal Private (Ncell) has paid off its 3G spectrum fees along with other outstanding dues, totalling NPR1.61 billion (USD18.86 million). MyRepublica reports that under the terms of the country’s recently adopted Radio Frequency Policy 2012, mobile operators Ncell and state-backed Nepal Telecom (NT) are required to pay NPR240 million per annum for using 2×10MHz of 3G spectrum from the year such services were launched. Under the policy directive Ncell owed a total of NPR1.20 billion to the Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA), covering the period 2007-2012. Ncell corporate communications spokesperson Milan Sharma confirmed: ‘We have paid 3G frequency fee, including the fee for current fiscal year, and also cleared other outstanding dues.’
For its part, NT has to date paid off just NPR480 million of the NPR1.44 billion in 3G frequencies it reportedly owes for 2006-2012. The carrier is however, querying the sum levied as it argues that it only launched 3G commercially in 2010.