Around 50 percent of mobile traffic, 10 percent of Internet traffic, and around 40 percent of ATM banking machines are at risk of out of service, due to non-renewal of Long Distance International (LDI) licenses on account of outstanding dues of around Rs. 79 billion, official documents revealed.
There were 13 LDI Licensees up for renewal. Four licenses are processed for renewal, and the remaining 9 licensees have outstanding dues regarding APC for USF.
The non-renewal of telecommunication licenses can significantly impact the telecom ecosystem, affecting service quality, business operations, and the broader economy.
OFC infrastructure
The Long Haul and Metro Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) Network is a total of 27,567 km of Long Haul OFC and 18337 Km of Metro OFC:
- Multinet Pakistan: 6,993 Km Long Haul leased to Telenor, Jazz and CMPak for Long haul and Fiber to the Site (FTTS) connectivity.
- Worldcall: 1,800 km Long Haul, 734 km Metro.
Impact
- Non-renewal of the LDI license will severely affect the mobile service. Around 50% of mobile traffic will be affected and many towers will be out of service.
- Around 10% of Internet traffic will be affected.
- Banking services will be affected. Around 40% of ATM banking machines will be out of service.
- Many corporate intranets will be out of service.
Satellite Services
Licensees like Telecard, Multinet, Retone, and Dancom operate satellite hubs with substantial throughput capacities, supporting critical communication needs.
- Redtone LDI: 496 Mbps (1792 x links, mostly banks, CMO sites, LEAs and Government Departments)
- Telecard: 2970 Mbps (873 x links, mostly banks, CMO sites, and government departments)
- Multinet Pakistan: 41Mbps (116 x Links, mainly banks and CMOs sites
- Dancom: 640 Mbps. (Mostly Banks)
Impact
Non-renewal of the LDI license will impact banking services, sites of the mobile operator, and connectivity provided to LEAs and Government Departments in remote areas.
- Non-renewal of LDI licenses will result in a disruption of international incoming traffic.
- Consequently, this traffic will need to be rerouted to other LDI operators.
- It could lead to potential service degradation, increased operational strain on the remaining operators, and possible interruptions in the continuity of international communication services.
Cross-Border Links-1
Pakistan has several cross-border microwaves and OFC links with neighboring countries like Afghanistan, facilitated by Multinet Pakistan which enhance international connectivity.
Non-renewal will lead to the discontinuity of the international data transit, potentially causing connectivity issues for operators in Afghanistan that rely on these routes.
Non-renewal of LD! licenses will result in a disruption of international incoming traffic. Consequently, this traffic will need to be rerouted to other LDI operators. It could lead to potential service degradation, increased operational strain on the remaining operators, and possible interruptions in the continuity of international communication services.
Cross-Border Links-2
Pakistan has several cross-border microwaves and OFC links with neighboring countries like Afghanistan, facilitated by Multinet Pakistan which enhance international connectivity.
Impact
Non-renewal will lead to the discontinuity of the International data transit, potentially causing connectivity issues for operators in Afghanistan.
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the licensees should pay their dues or shut down. There are many other telecoms like Jazz PTCL that can carry this traffic. You can’t default on paying the govt and use that as blackmail.
Dear Arham, these telcos are also dependent on these link provider, they don’t have their own infra. So be petiance.
POS services severely impacted and I advise everyone if your payment decline don’t try twice, immediately check your account balance otherwise your payment will be stuck and banks are not accepting any claim and reversal.
This literally happened to me just now, card got declined 3 times in a row.
Bro please contact to bank. If amount issue raised. According to banks process it’s reverse in 45 days if merchant doesn’t claim.
Who writes such stuff, without even verifying the details. If there is a payment to the licensee for which there could be a disruption in banking services, the Banks will switch to other service providers. What good does it give you to create such a fake narrative and add to other people’s worry.
Nice, they should go for it, It may be a message for others who got to pay, but it must be done the right way, no exceptions for any one, even for officials relatives, that’s where all the rules fail and connections win too bad for the future of any country
There was two options pay the remaining or pay money to unethical company for creating a Firewall to capture all four packets and our government did second one because the are afraid because people are getting aware 🤡🤡🤡