Local company HG Telecommunications (Pvt.) Ltd. has obtained a Long Distance International (LDI) license from Pakistan Telecommunication.
The PTA reports that HG Telecom was granted an LDI license following the completion of all legal requirements.
For the laying of a 1,500 km optical fiber cable, the company has submitted a $0.5 million license fee and $10 million in bank guarantees.
sources, Zeta Technologies (Pvt.) Ltd. acquired an LDI license from PTA earlier this year.
The country now has 19 LDI operators as a result of the license of these two firms. There are already 17 LDI businesses operating in the nation, including PTCL and NTC; however, these two new businesses will shortly begin doing business in Pakistan.
According to the sources, as both companies are local and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, no clearance was necessary for registration (SECP). Multinationals or businesses with foreign directors are required to obtain clearance from the Ministry of Interior.
PTA officials say that the new license has improved roll-out criteria for optical fiber networks and quality of service standards. This will open the door for the adoption of reducing technologies in both major towns and small cities, in addition to the world’s largest cities.
In March 2006, the Cabinet Committee on Regulatory Bodies (CCRB) put a seven-year watch hold on the issue of licenses for mobile, local loop (LL), and LDI. The watch hold expired on March 22, 2013, and China Mobile Pakistan as a result received an LDI license (CMPak). The issuance of the LDI license was put on hold when CMPak obtained a license.
After an eight-year break, the PTA reopened LDI licenses last year, and on June 14, 2022, Cyber Internet Service Private Limited obtained the first LDI license at that time.
