TMCnet News
3G/4G telecom auction: Some questions?(Daily Frontier Post (Afghanistan) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The Government of Pakistan is fully geared up to auction the 3G/4G telecom spectrum in the next few days. In this regard, in order to ensure the transparency in the telecom auction, the people of Pakistan need to know from the concerned answers to the following questions: 1. Why there is no bidder for the expired license of Instaphone? Who is responsible for this grave failure? Here it must be remembered that despite the false plea of stiff competition, the Pakistani telecom market is working like dollar manufacturing machine for the telecom companies which are regularly earning and remitting billions of USD back to their parent overseas companies. However, these companies do not want to invest a single penny in Pakistan from their overseas wealth that too earned from Pakistan. 2. Why the procedure of auction was designed in a manner which facilitated the alleged pooling? Has any action been taken against the consultants who were hired for very hefty amounts? 3. What reciprocal benefits were bargained with the telecom companies in accepting their huge demand for allowing the payments in Pak Rupee (after it was decided and notified in the Information Memorandum (IM) that the entire auction payments will be paid in the USD) which effectively confirmed that no foreign investment will be coming to Pakistan in this auction? In fact this acceptance of demand changed the whole scenario of the auction. 4. Why no serious efforts were made to invite new foreign telecom companies? Does it mean that the few telecom operators in Pakistan would not allow any new entrant in their field to safeguard their monopoly? 5. Why no new foreign telecom company came to Pakistan when major current telecom companies in Pakistan are doing such a roaring business (against the myth of stiff competition) that they are regularly sending around $2 billion per annum profit out of Pakistan, which is more than the combined yearly profits of the two world leading US soft drinks companies in Pakistan? 6. And despite such a huge earnings of the telecom companies in Pakistan, why the FBR is not pressing for its many years old claim of more than PKR 50 billion usurped by these companies on account of payables to the government collected from the public on government’s behalf? This amount must be recovered now with the accrued interests for which if required the matter may be got decided from the courts and till such time the decision is pending from the courts this amount should be taken from the telecom companies and kept with the courts. 7. When the whole world is crying foul in the 3G/4G bids submitted by the four Telecom companies, why the government is giving statements that the auction will fetch a satisfactory amount of $1.3 billion when even these payments will be received in the Pak Rupee? Here is why the public is not being told the fact that even this amount will not be received in full but only PKR 65 billion will be received as lump sum and the remaining 50% amount will be received in easy instalments spread over 5 years? This virtually means that the government has given a major concession of "pay as you earn" to the telecom companies which again proves that there will be no inflow of foreign investments in this auction. 8. If earlier the government had accepted the demands of the telecom companies to withdraw from the notified IM the payment condition in USD to PKR why no bargaining was made to get the entire auction amount in the first instance without any installment and why the telecom companies were not forced in the same bargain to deposit their outstanding amount of PKR 50 billion which actually don't belong to these companies as it was the amount of taxes collected from the public on government's behalf? 9. Why the government relaxed the rules to allow the participation in the telecom spectrum auction of a defaulting telecom company? 10. Why the $850 million due from a defaulting telecom company since 2006 is not being forcefully recovered. The amount is equal to 95-97% properties already transferred in that defaulting telecom company's name. 11. Why the defaulting telecom company is holding $850 million of the government money just for the non-transfer of less than 3-5% properties? Why the government has allowed itself to be black mailed in this case when in another instance a Turkish power company's ship was seized for default? Why UAE's telecom company is being given a preferential treatment over the Turkish power company? 12. Why the government has not decided to cancel the privatization of the PTCL to Etisalat Telecom on its over 8 years of default of $850 million which in real terms now means almost about $5 billion? 13. Why not immediately scrap the 3G, 4G telecom spectrum auction till some more companies also join the telecom business in Pakistan? |