Citycell has to pay Tk 318cr by Sep to stay

The Supreme Court today ordered moribund mobile operator Citycell to pay Tk 318 crore – two-thirds of its total dues – by September if it wants to stay in the market.

It has to pay Tk 318.34 crore to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) within 30 days from today, BTRC Commissioner (legal) Md Jahurul Haque told The Daily Star.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order after hearing an appeal by BTRC.

Citycell has to pay the rest of the due of total amount – Tk 477.63 crore – within another 30 days.

If Citycell fails to meet the deadline then BRTC authorities will be able to take any decision in this regard, Jahurul added citing a shorter version of the court order.

The government had a plan to bring down the curtains on Citycell on August 24, after the operator failed to clear dues amounting to Tk 477.51 crore. However, a High Court bench asked BTRC not to shut its operations until September 16.

BTRC appealed against the High Court order on August 24. BTRC also formed a committee that will shut down Citycell's network immediately after getting orders from authorities.

On July 31, the regulator issued a public notice and asked Citycell subscribers to switch to any other operator by August 16. The government later extended the time till August 23.