Business page

Pangtel issues licence to Digicel

By BIBIAN BARRENG
DIGICEL can go ahead with the launching of its mobile phone service set sometime next week after being finally issued their spectrum licence, a source from Pangtel said.
“Pangtel was obliged to issue the spectrum licence to Digicel after receiving all the technical documents which have been screened and also following ICCC’s (Independent Consumer and Competition Commission) issuance of the so-called public mobile service licence to Digicel and GreenCom,” the source had said.
Two weeks ago on the day when the notice of the National Executive Council’s decision to revoke licences was served to Pangtel, the senior management and officers of Pangtel were given a guided tour of Digicel’s newly-installed facilities at the Gordon industrial centre.
The source noted that to recall the licences would be legally wrong while the State would have to pay huge sums of money if the two telco companies were to sue for damages arising from the revocation of their licences.
The go-ahead for both Digicel and GreenCom by Pangtel also fell in line with national court’s decision last week to reject an application by Telikom to stop Digicel from competing with Telikom in the local mobile phone service..
The source added as far as Pangtel was concerned, the country’s telecommunication regulator was bound by the Telecommunications Act 1996 by which it was guided to carry out its duties.
According to Pangtel, GreenCom is scheduled to launch in October while Dicicel is all set for its mobile phone launching shortly.