A welcome decision on closed PSTN operators

THE government, according to a report published in this paper last Saturday, has decided to reissue licences to two of the five private sector PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) operators that were shut down in March last year following their alleged involvement in illegal VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) business. Indications are that the remaining three closed PSTN operators would also be allowed to resume their business in phases. The telecommunications ministry while asking the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to reissue the licences to the two leading private PSTN operators, RanksTel and National Telecom, has set a couple of conditions -- the companies would have to withdraw cases filed against the BTRC and pay all arrear dues to the government. The telecom ministry does deserve appreciation for the decision, though taken belatedly. The PSTN companies concerned, if they were really involved in illegal VoIP business, certainly should be subjected to lawful actions. But the decision to shut down their operations was not a prudent one for the sake of subscribers' interests and also for the interest of the telecom sector. The BTRC could have imposed heavy fines on the companies in question without hurting the interests of a large number of subscribers. In fact, the private PSTN connections were gradually becoming popular mainly because of their easy and hassle-free availability. The people living in rented houses were becoming increasingly attracted to the wireless PSTN connections. What a tenant has to do in the case of PSTN connections is carry his or her telephone set to the newly rented premises. Moreover, the private PSTN connections offered a great relief to the people seeking to get connections of the state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd. (BTCL). It used to take years to get a BTCL (formerly known as BTTB) connection earlier and most of the officials and employees of the state-monopoly had become corrupt and non-cooperative. But with the arrival of the private PSTN operators, the situation had changed dramatically. In the face of competition from the private PSTN operators, the BTCL lowered its connection fees and call charges drastically. The availability of its connections also became relatively easy. However, the change of strategy in the BTCL was not without any reason. It witnessed erosion in the number of its subscribers, who switched over to the private PSTN operators. When they were shut down by the BTRC last year, the four leading private nationwide PSTN operators, which were experiencing substantial growth, had a combined subscriber base of about 0.68 million. Only five private PSTN companies were allowed to operate nationally while some smaller companies were restricted to certain regions. The PSTN operators in question while resuming their operations in all likelihood would face a difficult time as some of their machinery and equipment have already been damaged for lack of required maintenance. Besides, regaining the lost subscribers might again prove a hard job since the forced-closure has helped the development of a sense of uncertainty among the prospective subscribers. There is no denying that there exists a sense of mistrust between the government and the private sector telecom operators, be it in PSTN or in mobile telephony. But Bangladesh with its tele-density level trailing far behind neighbouring India and Pakistan cannot afford this kind of relationship for its own interest and it should try to offer an environment conducive to the healthy growth of the telecom sector.