ISLAMABAD: The non-renewal of Long Distance International (LDI) licenses on account of outstanding dues of around Rs79 billion, can significantly impact the telecom ecosystem, affecting service quality, business operations and the broader economy, as 50 percent mobile traffic, around 10 percent of internet traffic as well as around 40 percent ATM banking machines will be out of service.
This was revealed before the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications, which met with Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan in the chair here on Monday.
The ministry and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in a joint presentation given in writing revealed that there were 13 LDI licensees up for renewal where four licenses are processed for renewal and remaining nine licensees have outstanding dues with regards to APC for USF.
Several options for settlement of outstanding amounts against LDI operators under study
The committee was informed that the license renewal issue primarily affects four companies, including Wateen, which has an extensive fiber optic infrastructure spanning 24 cities, primarily in Balochistan and interior Sindh.
Wateen is also connected to 44 banks and NADRA.
Although a committee was formed to address the license renewal issue, it was unable to resolve the matter. Wateen’s license expired in July 2024, but the company secured a court-issued stay order. The committee chairperson emphasised that failure to renew these licenses could result in significant losses.
The chairperson also raised concerns about the potential impact on the network if these companies’ licenses were not renewed.
The PTA officials responded, explaining that the suspension of the companies’ operations would greatly affect the network, and it would take significant time to restore services. They also mentioned that PTCL cannot compensate for the gap left by these companies if their operations are halted.
The committee was informed that the Long Haul and Metro Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) Network is a total of 27,567 km of Long Haul OFC and 18,337 km of Metro OFC. i. Wateen Telecom: 18,774 km Long Haul, 17,140 km Metro, leased to Telenor, Jazz and CMPak for Long haul and Fiber to the Site (FTTS) connectivity. ii. Multinet Pakistan: 6,993 km Long Haul leased to Telenor, Jazz and CMPak for Long haul and Fiber to the Site (FTTS) connectivity.iii. Worldcall: 1,800 kms Long Haul, 734 km Metro.
The non-renewal of the LDI license will severely affect the mobile service. Around 50 percent mobile traffic will be affected and many towers will be out of service. Around 10 per cent of internet traffic will be affected. Banking service will be affected as around 40 percent ATM banking machines will be out of service. Many corporate intranet will be out of service.
Licensees like Telecard, Multinet, Wateen, Retone and Dancom operate satellite hubs with substantial throughput capacities, supporting critical communication needs. i. Redtone LDI: 496 Mbps (1792 x links, mostly banks, CMO sites, LEAs and Government Departments); ii, Telecard: 2970 Mbps (873 x links, mostly banks, CMO sites, government departments), iii, Wateen Telecom: 55 Mbps (207 x links, primarily; Cellular Mobile Operator (CMO) sites), iv, Multinet Pakistan: 41Mbps (116 x Links, mainly banks and CMOs sites, v. Dancom: 640 Mbps. (Mostly Banks)
Non-renewal of the LDI license will impact banking services, sites of the mobiles operator, connectivity provided to LEAs and government Departments in remote areas. Non-renewal of LDI licenses will result in a disruption of international incoming traffic.
Consequently, this traffic will need to be rerouted to other LDI operators. It could lead to potential service degradation, increased operational strain on the remaining operators, and possible interruptions in the continuity of international communication services.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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