Blank Cheques

Telecom operators are holding back on June payment to the telecom development fund (TDF) after Sri Lanka Telecom held back payments for some 18 month.



Telecom operators are holding back on June payment to the telecom development fund (TDF) after Sri Lanka Telecom held back payments for some 18 month. It is understood that as of July 19 some of the five other network operators (excluding SLT and its subsidiary Mobitel) have held back June payments to the fund until the regulatory clarifies the issue.

Sri Lanka Telecom however has made provisions in its accounts for the full amount due to the fund.

All telecom operators are expected to remit US $ cents 3.

80 to the fund for every international call minute terminated in Sri Lanka at the end of every month - as per legislation that was introduced in late 2004 and enforced with retrospective effect from March 2003.

Network operators can then claim back two thirds of the US $ cents 3.80 for rolling our telecom infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas.

Definitions for unserved and underserved are however yet to be defined.

Telecommunications Regulatory Commission officials