Staff Reporter :
A High Court bench on Monday stayed government’s order to shutdown Citycell’s operation or cancel its license up to September 16.
The HC bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed passed the order after China Development Bank placed
its injunction petition during a hearing of a petition filed by the bank to realise its dues of $36.63 million from Citycell.
Citycell’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mehboob Chowdhury confirmed the court order to The New Nation yesterday.
The government had earlier ordered to shutdown the Citycell’s operation from the zero hour of August 24.
After government’s order, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) also took all its preparation to shutdown its switch room, said the commission’s Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood just before the court order.
The telecom regulator recently sought reasons within 30 days from Pacific Bangladesh Telecom that owns Citycell for not cancelling its license although the operator failed to pay Tk 477.63 crore in dues.
As BTRC gave Citycell 30 days time to explain their point, the HC also said within this time the operation of the telecom operator needs to be uninterrupted.
In a previous notice, BTRC said the switchover period for Citycell subscribers to other operators has been extended until August 23, after the initial deadline ended on August 16.
State Minister for Posts and Telecommunication Tarana Halim earlier announced to take tough action with the Citycell to realise its Tk 477 crore dues.
Despite her tough stance, lenders cannot feel assured that Citycell will pay its dues.
After the announcement, different vendors providing services for the cellphone company are still concerned to get back their dues. BTRC Chief Shahjahan informed journalists that the total number of Citycell subscribers is approximately 1,50,000 after the biometric RIM registration.
According to BTRC, Citycell has not paid the second and third installments of the renewal fees of Tk229 crore for 8.82 megahertz spectrum since spectrum renewal in 2012, which has breached the licencing terms.
The other dues include Tk10 crore annual licence fees, Tk27.14 crore annual spectrum fees from 2013 to 2016, Tk27.84 crore revenue sharing from 2014 to 2016, Tk8.92 crore corporate social responsibility fund from 2011 to 2016 while Tk39.92 crore VAT and Tk13.5 crore late fees.
Citycell parent company Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited got licence for telecom services in 1989.
A High Court bench on Monday stayed government’s order to shutdown Citycell’s operation or cancel its license up to September 16.
The HC bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed passed the order after China Development Bank placed
its injunction petition during a hearing of a petition filed by the bank to realise its dues of $36.63 million from Citycell.
Citycell’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mehboob Chowdhury confirmed the court order to The New Nation yesterday.
The government had earlier ordered to shutdown the Citycell’s operation from the zero hour of August 24.
After government’s order, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) also took all its preparation to shutdown its switch room, said the commission’s Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood just before the court order.
The telecom regulator recently sought reasons within 30 days from Pacific Bangladesh Telecom that owns Citycell for not cancelling its license although the operator failed to pay Tk 477.63 crore in dues.
As BTRC gave Citycell 30 days time to explain their point, the HC also said within this time the operation of the telecom operator needs to be uninterrupted.
In a previous notice, BTRC said the switchover period for Citycell subscribers to other operators has been extended until August 23, after the initial deadline ended on August 16.
State Minister for Posts and Telecommunication Tarana Halim earlier announced to take tough action with the Citycell to realise its Tk 477 crore dues.
Despite her tough stance, lenders cannot feel assured that Citycell will pay its dues.
After the announcement, different vendors providing services for the cellphone company are still concerned to get back their dues. BTRC Chief Shahjahan informed journalists that the total number of Citycell subscribers is approximately 1,50,000 after the biometric RIM registration.
According to BTRC, Citycell has not paid the second and third installments of the renewal fees of Tk229 crore for 8.82 megahertz spectrum since spectrum renewal in 2012, which has breached the licencing terms.
The other dues include Tk10 crore annual licence fees, Tk27.14 crore annual spectrum fees from 2013 to 2016, Tk27.84 crore revenue sharing from 2014 to 2016, Tk8.92 crore corporate social responsibility fund from 2011 to 2016 while Tk39.92 crore VAT and Tk13.5 crore late fees.
Citycell parent company Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited got licence for telecom services in 1989.
