BTRC to allow around 1000 cyber cafes to operate legally
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Naim-Ul-Karim
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will allow around a thousand cyber café operators to provide Internet services, bringing them for the first time under legal framework, to power the government's move to expand internet penetration and add more revenue income sources, officials said Tuesday.
They said the BTRC has already drafted a guideline, under which the owners of cyber cafes will get licences at minimal fees from the Commission to provide Internet connections legally.
Under the same guideline, they said, existing different area-based tiny illegal internet service providers (ISPs) would also get licences to do the same business legally.
Chairman of the BTRC Maj Gen (retd.) Manzurul Alam said bringing different area-based small illegal ISPs and owners of cyber cafes under licensing would help hundreds of the country's talented youths reap optimum benefit utilising information technology.
"This will also help boost Internet penetration in the country," he added.
Echoing almost a similar view, General Secretary of Cyber Café Owners' Association of Bangladesh (CCOAB) SM Zulfiquer Haider told the FE that the BTRC's move seemed to them very excellent as this would help increase Internet penetration.
"It will be another window of the government's revenue earning," as the number of Internet users spreading across the country rapidly will raise the rate of penetration," he said.
The government has set a target to increase Internet penetration in the country to 30 per cent by 2011 from existing one per cent.
In a move to increase Internet penetration, the telecom regulatory body for the second time in a gap of less than five months has further slashed internal bandwidth charges of submarine cable network by around 60 per cent this month.
The commission officials said the new tariff rate that is to come into force from December 1, will power the government's efforts to increase the number of Internet users' base in the country.
A senior BTRC official said: "It is needed to reach the benefit of bandwidth charge reduction by the Commission to users' end. We need to increase the number of ISPs so that they are forced to be more competitive in offering bandwidth charges of Internet."
He said the BTRC's move to bring cyber cafes under the legal framework will also stem cyber crime in the country.
According to the regulatory commission, an area-based Internet service provider will also be allowed to run cyber café business legally under the same licence.
It said licence-holder ISPs or cyber café owners will directly be able to buy bandwidth from international internet gateway service providers and national or zonal ISP providers but they would not be allowed to lease out bandwidth.
ISP licence recipients, the BTRC said, will be disqualified for application for licence of Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT ) and Internet Protocol Telephony services.
"As area-based small ISPs will be able to buy bandwidth directly and there will be no middlemen those operators' cost of doing business will decline substantially leading to benefit to the users end."
The BTRC chairman said the Commission will go tough against those operators who will be found involved in any illegal activities even after getting licences to run business legally.
The BTRC will disclose the draft guideline, based on which illegal ISPs and cyber café operators will be awarded licences, by today or tomorrow seeking stakeholders' opinion within one week of its publication.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will allow around a thousand cyber café operators to provide Internet services, bringing them for the first time under legal framework, to power the government's move to expand internet penetration and add more revenue income sources, officials said Tuesday.
They said the BTRC has already drafted a guideline, under which the owners of cyber cafes will get licences at minimal fees from the Commission to provide Internet connections legally.
Under the same guideline, they said, existing different area-based tiny illegal internet service providers (ISPs) would also get licences to do the same business legally.
Chairman of the BTRC Maj Gen (retd.) Manzurul Alam said bringing different area-based small illegal ISPs and owners of cyber cafes under licensing would help hundreds of the country's talented youths reap optimum benefit utilising information technology.
"This will also help boost Internet penetration in the country," he added.
Echoing almost a similar view, General Secretary of Cyber Café Owners' Association of Bangladesh (CCOAB) SM Zulfiquer Haider told the FE that the BTRC's move seemed to them very excellent as this would help increase Internet penetration.
"It will be another window of the government's revenue earning," as the number of Internet users spreading across the country rapidly will raise the rate of penetration," he said.
The government has set a target to increase Internet penetration in the country to 30 per cent by 2011 from existing one per cent.
In a move to increase Internet penetration, the telecom regulatory body for the second time in a gap of less than five months has further slashed internal bandwidth charges of submarine cable network by around 60 per cent this month.
The commission officials said the new tariff rate that is to come into force from December 1, will power the government's efforts to increase the number of Internet users' base in the country.
A senior BTRC official said: "It is needed to reach the benefit of bandwidth charge reduction by the Commission to users' end. We need to increase the number of ISPs so that they are forced to be more competitive in offering bandwidth charges of Internet."
He said the BTRC's move to bring cyber cafes under the legal framework will also stem cyber crime in the country.
According to the regulatory commission, an area-based Internet service provider will also be allowed to run cyber café business legally under the same licence.
It said licence-holder ISPs or cyber café owners will directly be able to buy bandwidth from international internet gateway service providers and national or zonal ISP providers but they would not be allowed to lease out bandwidth.
ISP licence recipients, the BTRC said, will be disqualified for application for licence of Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT ) and Internet Protocol Telephony services.
"As area-based small ISPs will be able to buy bandwidth directly and there will be no middlemen those operators' cost of doing business will decline substantially leading to benefit to the users end."
The BTRC chairman said the Commission will go tough against those operators who will be found involved in any illegal activities even after getting licences to run business legally.
The BTRC will disclose the draft guideline, based on which illegal ISPs and cyber café operators will be awarded licences, by today or tomorrow seeking stakeholders' opinion within one week of its publication.