-By A Staff Writer

A private sector player is still waiting for government’s nod to launch its services.

The total number of cell phone subscribers in the Indian capital New Delhi is almost equal to the total population in the Kathmandu valley. Kathmandu, however, lags far behind in terms of using the cell phone as this service is still considered to be beyond the reach of the mid-income bracket people.

The scenario would change drastically as soon as the government decides to allot frequency to Spice Cell Nepal Ltd., an Nepal-India joint venture, the only private sector company in Nepal allowed so far in cellular mobile telephone business.

"As soon as we have access to the frequency module, we would start operating," said Rajendra Kumar Khetan, managing director of the Khetan Group, the Nepali partner the company. Modi Corp., a leading Indian business group, owns majority shares in the venture.

The launching of the private cell phone services, scheduled to take place by the end of 2001, was delayed amid legal tangle. Employees of the state-owned Nepal Telecommunications Corporation (NTC) - that is the sole provider of value added cell phones in the country till now - filed a case at the Supreme Court against the government’s decision to allow private sector player in the cellular mobile business. The apex court rejected their plea in August last year thus facilitating the entry of the private sector in the much sought after business.

Spice Cell Nepal officials say they have already fulfilled all the necessary formalities including submitting financial and technical report for the project. They are now waiting for frequency allotment from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) where their proposal is still in the pending for reasons unknown.

"We have got nothing to do with the delay," said Kailash Neupane, a spokesman at the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA), a regulatory body formed by the government to oversee the telecom business in the country. "There will be no delay on our part to award license to the Spice Cell as soon as their frequency plan is approved by the MoIC."

According to sources, a frequency management committee at the MoIC is studying the plan. The Spice Nepal will have to launch its services within nine months of getting the license.

But the private sector is in no mood to wait so long. "We can launch our services within three months of getting license," said Khetan.

After completing all the legal and joint venture procedures in September, last year, the Spice Cell Nepal Ltd. applied to the NTA for frequency allocation. The NTA then sought clearance from the Ministry from where it is yet to get response.

"It is definitely costing us heavily. The money we have committed is lying idle in the bank. We have also lined up many people to work on the project, all are waiting for the green signal. The losses on the government’s side are for the NTA to calculate," said Khetan.

According to Khetan, the private sector company will gradually go on adding facilities including short messaging system (SMS), email, Internet, and also news alerts, weather forecasts etc. over a period of time. It is also considering to offer value added services such as roaming services, and data communication facilities possible under the GMS mobile technology.

Our plan is to provide the service along the highways and all hubs and markets within Nepal to make our coverage as wide as possible. Mobiles are definitely a better communication option than wire connections. Like in Bangladesh, we are also eyeing rural markets, said Khetan.

The project, estimated to cost around US$ 13 million, aims to reach thousands of people in the medium-income bracket over a period of next ten years - when the license will expire. So far, an estimated 20,000 subscribers in Kathmandu are making the use of the costly mobile service from NTC.

The delays in allotting the frequency by the authorities have created anxiety to both the Nepali and Indian investors involved in the project. "It seems the government is not serious and committed (to allow private sector enter the cell phone market)," said a disgruntled official at the company. "It will not be sending right signals to foreign investors."