Kathmandu, December 2

Refuting Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA)’s claim that Ncell has provided its services to call centres without permission, the private company has clarified that it believes it has provided its services ‘within the scope of our licence and by using advanced technology’.

NTA — the telecom sector regulator — has taken action against the leading mobile service provider of the country as per Clause 47 (2) of Telecommunications Authority Act, 1997 for providing telecom service to 29 call centres through session initiation protocol (SIP).

However, issuing an official statement today, Ncell has stated, “It has been Ncell’s view and assessment that we have provided SIM and enabled our corporate customers to operate SIP services in-house, within the scope of our licence and by using advanced technology. It appears that NTA has taken a different view.”

The SIP is a communications protocol for signalling and controlling multimedia communication sessions. The most common applications of SIP are in internet telephony for voice and video calls, as well as instant messaging all over internet protocol (IP) networks.

According to NTA Spokesperson Min Prasad Aryal, Ncell has only been granted licence to provide GSM and internet services and the private firm has flouted the rules by providing telecommunications service to 29 call centres through SIP.

“Hence, the authority has slapped a fine of Rs 500,000 on Ncell as per law and directed it to shut the service being provided illegally,” said Aryal.

The Ncell statement says it is ‘surprised’ at such penalising measures coming from NTA, ‘while we are working to adopt latest technologies to provide better and advanced services to customers, ultimately contributing to technological development of country’.

Asserting that adoption of global practices like SIP connectivity and technology neutrality is set to bring clear benefits to customers of telecommunication services in Nepal, Ncell statement adds, “SIP services are especially vital for internet services providers (ISPs) in the country. Closing SIP will negatively impact their

customer care services, and there is no alternative to SIP in Nepal at the moment.”

Moreover, the firm has said it will decide on its next course of action after careful consideration of the basis taken by NTA, ‘so that our customers continue benefiting from the enhancement of technology’.