Two of Pakistan’s main operators have now paid around half of their licence renewal fees, which were recently increased by the country’s government to $450 million.
Jazz and Telenor Pakistan are both suing the government for the increase, which the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) argues reflects the price of spectrum in the country’s most recent auctions.
The operators had little choice but to pay after the PTA warned that it would suspend their licences if it had not received payments by 21st August. Two weeks ago, the Islamabad High Court ordered the operators to make “token payments” to demonstrate their willingness to resolve their dispute with the government.
The PTA confirmed that it had received $224.6 million from each operator, bringing them in line with the court order.
