A reliable source said that the government is soon introducing a new provision, under which ISPs planning to cater service to the rural areas and VSAT service users, namely for educational and health sectors, will not have to deposit more than Rs 100 as license fee to operate or use the service.
Currently, ISPs operating in rural as well as urban areas have to pay Rs 300,000 to acquire license, while aspiring VSAT users have to deposit Rs 250,000 before being able to use the service.
Talking to The Kathmandu Post, Kailash Neupane, spokesperson of Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA), the telecom regulatory and advisory body, said that the authority has already forwarded the recommendation -- soliciting reduction -- to Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC).
MoIC has also approved NTA's proposal and forwarded it to Ministry of Law for necessary action, according to sources.
Once the proposal is endorsed by the government, license fee to open an ISP in rural areas will come down to Rs 100, Neupane said. Similarly, education and health institutions acquiring VSAT services will not have to deposit more than Rs 100 to use the service.
However, no changes have been made to fee structure imposed on ISPs operating in urban areas and VSAT users other than education and health institutions, he added.
“We believe the reductions will increase penetration of ISPs in rural areas, make computer education accessible and affordable to rural population, and promote use of telemedicine and support e-governance initiatives,” Neupane said.
According to Neupane, to be eligible for the discount that is in the offing, health and educational institutions must acquire a recommendation letter from respective ministries substantiating that they are providing health and education services. And, ISPs must prove that they have registered the new company in the rural area.
As per the definition of NTA, all village development committees (VDCs) that do not lie on the borders of metropolitan city, sub-metropolitan city or municipality fall under the category of 'rural area'.
Neupane, however, informed that no rebates are in the offing for ISPs that are already providing service in rural areas and educational and health institutions that are currently using VSAT services. “But at the time of renewing the license, the government will not take more than Rs 90 from them,” he added.
Currently, there are around 31 ISPs in the country, of which only one is providing service in rural areas. Similarly, the number of VSAT service users hover at around 109.
Quelle/Source: Kantipur Online, 23.04.2007
