The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has revoked the operating licences held by Wi-Tribe after the fixed wireless provider violated the terms of its concessions by failing to maintain services.
CommsUpdate reports that infrastructure firm edotco shut down Wi-Tribe’s network in July 2020 following a dispute between the firms, with Wi-Tribe arguing that edotco was demanding “huge sums of money for disrupted and faulty services.” The provider claimed that edotco shut down its network without the required notice “as an extortion and blackmail exercise to gain commercial advantage”.
Wi-Tribe lodged a complaint with the PTA over the dispute, noting that it was effectively forced into a commercial partnership with edotco after the firm acquired Wi-Tribe’s initial infrastructure partner Towershare, which Wi-Tribe claims offered fairer pricing and more competitive services. The complaint has not been resolved.
The PTA notes that it reached its decision to revoke Wi-Tribe’s licence as ultimately providers are legally responsible for maintaining services to their customers. The regulator argued that the operator has not taken “proper, reasonable and justifiable measures” to ensure the continuation of its services despite the disruption, noting that Wi-Tribe had discontinued services in all of its coverage areas by January 2021, constituting a failure to uphold the terms of its licences.
