TRC reaches ‘win-win’ settlement with Orange Jordan in 2G licence renewal dispute

AMMAN — The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) has reached a settlement with Orange Jordan over a dispute related to the renewal of the company's second generation (2G) network.

 TRC Chief Commissioner Ghazi Jbour said the deal resulted in dropping of all charges and an international request for arbitration filed by the telecom provider against the government.

Under the settlement, Orange Jordan drops a complaint it filed for arbitration with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) as well as other charges it filed with the Higher Court of Justice (HCJ) and the Amman Court of First Instance, Jbour said in a press conference on Thursday.

"The settlement we reached is a win-win situation for all," said Jbour.

In 2014, Orange Jordan resorted to the ICSID and local courts in protest against the TRC's conditions when the regulator set renewal fees of its 2G licence for 15 years at JD156 million and levied JD3.4 million a year as the government’s cut from the frequency revenues. The company saw the annual fees as unfair and when it filed a lawsuit with the HCJ, the court dismissed the case for lack of competence.

Unwilling to be lost in slow lawsuits, Orange Jordan requested a five-year renewal of the license for a third of the total sum, and continued its legal battle in the meantime.The TRC approved the request.

Following the settlement agreement, whose terms of references were signed, the TRC allows Orange Jordan to pay the remaining volume of JD104 million of the 2G licence over two instalments: Half of it will be paid in 2019 and the other half in 2024.

In addition, the TRC will grant Orange Jordan exemption of fees on annual frequency revenues for six years instead of three years.

At the same time, the TRC conditioned that Orange Jordan install 100 new radio towers in areas that the TRC selects to boost coverage.

"We will select non-revenue generating sites for the installation of these towers. Usually companies choose sites that will make revenues for them to install such towers. We will go back to complaints we received about weak coverage in several areas and will ask for these towers to be installed in such areas to address users' complaints," Jbour said at the press conference.

In addition, the operator will be granted an exemption of custom fees on equipment and devices, which amount to JD7 million.

"Any company that will renew its licence will receive the same treatment and the same exemptions from now on," said Jbour.

"The final agreement will be signed in two weeks,” the official said, concluding: “This settlement and the ending of the arbitration case against the country is very important for Jordan's credit situation and international ranking," as an investment destination, said the TRC chief.

Orange Jordan is 51 per cent owned by France Telecom.