Jazz and Telenor argued that the costs of renewing the licenses were exorbitant in comparison to what they were fifteen years ago. PTA announced a new renewal price of $449 million, which is significantly higher than the original price. They went on to say that the license charge was greater than what another telecommunications business paid in 2016.
Jazz bought the license for Warid in 2016-2017, which was originally purchased for $291 million in 2004 and has the following frequencies: 2 x 4.8 MHz in 1800 MHz, 2 x 8.8 MHz in 1800 MHz. Telenor’s license fee in 2004 was $291 million, and both Jazz and Telenor’s licenses were up for renewal in 2019, but the renewal money was still due owing to a price disagreement.
The price issue arose because Ufone’s license renewal charge in 2016 was the same as the original fee, which was $291 million in 2004. However, in 2019, Telenor and Jazz were taxed significantly more, prompting both phone card carriers to bring a case against PTA in the Islamabad High Court. Both Telenor and Jazz paid only half of the license price in advance, and they appealed to the Islamabad High Court.
PTA justified the $449 million licence price by claiming that economic conditions in 2019 were different from those in 2016, and that it was reasonable, with no discrimination or overpricing. Following the proceedings, the petition was decided in PTA’s favour, and the case was won by PTA. Both operators, however, have appealed to the Supreme Court since they do not agree with the Cost and are paying the fee in instalments according to the PTA’s plan for the remaining 50% of the sum.
