LAHORE, Nov 18: After failing to meet the deadline for depositing the license renewal fee instalment the oldest cellular company in the country — Paktel — has been in a fix. The company can neither operate in the market nor wind up its operations without the approval of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), it is learnt.

Sources in the PTA informed Dawn that the Paktel, which was supposed to pay millions of dollars as license renewal instalment by the first week of this month, has yet to clarify to PTA its position for delaying the payment.

Sources said the PTA could take action against the cellular company under the Telecommunication Act in case of its failure to pay the amount payable. However, they did not specify the time that PTA was willing to extend for payment by the company.

"The company can not get away without clearing the instalment," the sources confirmed, adding that it is not clear if the PTA was planning to initiate legal action because it could create panic in the sector.

It is pertinent to mention that the government of Pakistan had in early 1990s given the license to the Paktel for 15 years without charging a fee, as it wanted to promote foreign investment in the sector.

The sources said the 15 years of the company had been completed. They claimed that the license renewal fee would be charged from both — Mobilink and Insta — on the expiry of their license in near future as well. "We have a uniform policy for all cell phone companies and there would be no compromise on the payment issue," they said.

They further explained that the PTA would not allow Paktel to wind up its operations (in Pakistan) because any such decision would affect its some 1.4 million customers.

“It is likely that the matter will be resolved amicably as negotiations between the PTA and the company are underway," a senior officer of the authority told this reporter.

PTA chief Maj-Gen (retd) Shahzada Alam Malik was not available for comments.

Meanwhile there are reports that Millicon International, the parent company of Paktel, is contemplating to wrap up its operations in Pakistan because it can not afford to pay such a huge amount.

In a statement M/S Millicon said that it was considering strategic options for Paktel Limited, and its business in Pakistan, where significant doubts mar confidence in the ability of the company (Paktel) to generate returns on investment at the levels required by the parent company.

It had been considering significant investment to build market share in Pakistan but there were issues like frequency interference and stiff competition in the sector, Millicon said.