One more business has received a long-distance international (LDI) licence from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
An LDI licence has been granted by the Authority to Dynasty Telcom (Private) Ltd., a local business.
The PTA reports that Dynasty Telcom was granted an LDI licence following the completion of all legal requirements. For the laying of a 1,500-kilometre optical fibre cable, the company has submitted a $0.5 million licence fee and $10 million in bank guarantees.
The PTA has granted the third LDI licence this year. While HG Telecommunication (Private) Ltd. received its LDI licence in February of this year, Zeta Technologies (Private) Ltd. received its licence earlier in January. Despite the new business receiving an LDI licence, there are still 19 LDI operators operating in the nation.
Any business that obtains a licence from the authority has 18 months to begin operations, according to the PTA. PTA teams conduct an equipment review of the business using the checklist after 18 months and submit a report to the authority. The authority issues a Commencement of Operations Certificate in light of this report, at which point the business may begin operations.
Since the company is local and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), no clearance was necessary for registration. International businesses or businesses with foreign directors are required to obtain clearance from the Ministry of Interior.
After an eight-year hiatus, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority reopened the LDI licence last year. The CCRB (Cabinet Committee on Regulatory Bodies) placed a seven-year watch hold on the issuance of licences for mobile, local loop (LL), and LDI in 2006. On March 22, 2013, the watch hold expired, and China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak) was granted an LDI licence as a result. The issuance of the LDI licence was put on hold after CMPak received a licence.
