Operators have raised concerns over 600 percent increases in charges for laying and maintaining telecom cables.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Access Providers Association (PTAPA) has approached Punjab authorities and the federal government over the charges for laying and maintaining telecom cables at Quaid-e-Azam Industrial Estate (QIE).
Under the revised rates introduced by the QIE management, annual rent for aerial telecom cables has increased from Rs. 50 to Rs. 300 per meter. PTAPA warned that higher infrastructure costs could eventually put pressure on the cost of internet and telecom services.
Charges for underground infrastructure have also increased substantially. The one-time right-of-way (ROW) fee for buried cables has risen 333 percent from Rs. 300 to Rs. 1,000 per meter, while annual rent has doubled from Rs. 100 to Rs. 300 per meter, a 200 percent increase.
The one-time supervision fee for buried cables has also increased 213 percent, up from Rs. 80 to Rs. 250 per meter.
PTAPA said the revised charges are inconsistent with the federal government’s Public & Private Right of Way Policy Directives and urged the authorities to enforce the approved policy.
The association argued that ROW charges imposed by public authorities should be based on a no-profit-no-loss principle and should cover the cost of providing the relevant service rather than being used as a source of commercial revenue.
It also said telecom operators that already pay approved tariffs for using electricity distribution company poles should not be subjected to additional permission or NOC charges.
The association has asked the authorities to intervene on an urgent basis to help with permissions for laying new infrastructure that are being withheld.
Such restrictions could slow the expansion of telecom infrastructure and affect the provision of internet and other essential communication services to businesses operating in the industrial estate.
The association has called for the revised charges to be reviewed in line with the federal ROW policy.
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