Telecom regulator moves to spread internet services across country

FE Team | Published: May 11, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

M Azizur Rahman
The country's telecom regulator has taken a major initiative to enrich the internet services across the country by providing internet protocol (IP) phones and Wimax license, officials said.
"We are working hard to upgrade the internet connectivity in the city areas and spread it quickly within the reach of rural people," Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman Manzurul Alam told the FE Tuesday.
He said as per the International Long Distance Telecommunication Service (ILDTS) Policy-2007 the IP phone licenses would be provided only to the internet service providers (ISPs).
The Wimax (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) licenses would be provided to the interested private entrepreneurs including those of the ISPs.
"The policy for giving IP phone licenses to the ISPs has already been adopted by the BTRC," its chief, Major General (retd) Manzurul Alam said.
The Wimax policy would be formulated soon after public consultations, he said.
The BTRC in a major breakthrough to wipe out long-lasting illegal use of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) adopted the country's first-ever ILDTS policy last year to legalise the VoIP services.
Three types of licenses - international gateway (IGW), interconnection exchange (ICX) and internet gateway (IIG) - have already been provided to the bid winning private entrepreneurs after conducting the rare live auctions by the BTRC to monitor and facilitate the VoIP.
The BTRC has already provided three IGW licenses to Novotel Ltd, Bangla Trac Communications Ltd and Mir Telecom, two ICX licenses to M&H Telecom and Getco Telecommunications Ltd and one IIG license to Mango Teleservices.
"All these six companies that received the BTRC licenses has already initiated their groundworks and are expected to start formal operations shortly," an owner of a IGW license holder told the FE requesting for anonymity.
The fourth license as mentioned in the ILDTS policy - the IP phone license - would be provided to the ISPs soon to ensure legal use of VoIP, said a senior BTRC official.
When contacted President of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) M Abdus Salam said: "The IP phone operations by the ISPs will not only ensure government monitoring of calls made over internet but also enhance government revenue substantially."
He said it will also help sustain the growing young ISP entrepreneurs and to involve more such entrepreneurs in the rural areas thereby solving unemployment problem to a great extent.