PTA Rescinds Suspension of LDI Operator Licenses ILLEGAL EXCHANGES CAUSING LOSSES OF RS.40 BILLION

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued orders today rescinding the license suspension notices of 3 LDI Operators issued by the authority on 30 June 2011, citing the Sindh High court stay orders granted to Redtone, Worldcall and Multinet. The PTA notices directed all services of the aggrieved operators be restored immediately.
“But the real question for the PTA is, what is the PTA doing to stop the menace of illegal gateway exchanges which are causing losses estimated to be Rs.40 Billion (and growing) to the national exchequer?”, enquired an industry specialist.
Reports indicate that instead of addressing the danger illegal gateway exchanges pose for the economy of Pakistan, PTA has recently taken an aggressive stance against the licensed LDI industry who individually filed challenges in the courts of Sindh and Punjab against certain fixed levy elements in the regulations. Normally, the rates licensed LDI operators charge per international incoming minute contains provision for the fixed levy as determined by the regulator; however, the PTA’s failure to put a stop to illegal gateway exchanges results in undercutting any ‘official’ rate, stealing traffic from licensed operators.
Sources said that the licensed operators therefore reduce prices to match the market rate driven by the illegal gateways, which operate from the shadows with impunity and are immune to the fixed levy of the PTA. The lower rates make the fixed levy unaffordable for the licensed operators and despite repeated requests by the industry to change or even eliminate the fixed levy regime; the PTA has dragged its feet. Instead, to hide their own incompetence, the PTA insists licensed operators pay extortionist levels of the fixed levy, which the licensed operators cannot afford.
Industry analysts are of the opinion that the recent arbitrary decisions of the PTA and its late night tactics were deliberately done to harass licensed LDI operators. The action has disturbed services legally provided by LDI operators to its customers and adversely affected foreign exchange earnings for the country.