Cabinet okays draft policy to open up VoIP business
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
M Azizur Rahman
The cabinet has approved the draft on the amendment to International Long Distance Telecommunication Service (ILDTS) Policy 2009 to accommodate more companies in businesses of international call terminations or voice over internet protocol (VoIP).
The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was held on Monday to endorse the draft of the new policy in line with the recommendation of the parliamentary standing committee on the posts and telecommunications ministry.
The new policy will open up the telecom businesses for all and ensure fair competition, PM's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told the newsmen after the meeting.
He said the new policy will help boost government revenue from the telecom sector.
But the private sector VoIP operators, who initiated their businesses after obtaining licences from the caretaker government, fear uneven competition with the new entrants.
"The terms and references of initiating the VoIP business afresh should be similar to the previous one to ensure a level playing field," said chairman of a private international gateway (IGW) operator who obtained licence under the previous policy.
Otherwise, the private sector investment worth Tk 10-12 billion under the private would go down the drain, said an official requesting anonymity.
The caretaker government in April 2007 adopted the ILDTS Policy opening up the VoIP for the private sector.
A three-tier telecom infrastructure - international gateway (IGW), Interconnection Exchange (ICX) and Access Network Services (ANS) - was established under that policy.
The caretaker government had offered three IGW licences, two ICXs and one Internet Exchange (IX) licence to private sector following an open auction.
Only the companies fully owned by resident Bangladeshi citizens were qualified for the licences offered during the caretaker government.
Foreign company or foreign joint venture was barred from applying for licence.
Fixed or mobile phone operators were also not given the licence.
Before opening up of the VoIP smuggling of international calls by vested quarter was rampant.
Telecom experts said over 100 smugglers are still active in international call terminations due to inadequate measures to prevent them.
Currently, the smugglers are terminating around 15 million call-minutes per day and as the consequences the government is losing around US$ 310,500 worth of revenues.
Before opening up the VoIP to the private sector, the BTTB, currently known as Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTCL), was the only legal operator of the VoIP.
The BTRC fetches US cents 1.55 per call minute from the existing private operators as they provide 51.75 per cent of US cents 3.0 against every call minute to the exchequer, as fixed in the ILDTS policy adopted during the caretaker government.
The cabinet has approved the draft on the amendment to International Long Distance Telecommunication Service (ILDTS) Policy 2009 to accommodate more companies in businesses of international call terminations or voice over internet protocol (VoIP).
The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was held on Monday to endorse the draft of the new policy in line with the recommendation of the parliamentary standing committee on the posts and telecommunications ministry.
The new policy will open up the telecom businesses for all and ensure fair competition, PM's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told the newsmen after the meeting.
He said the new policy will help boost government revenue from the telecom sector.
But the private sector VoIP operators, who initiated their businesses after obtaining licences from the caretaker government, fear uneven competition with the new entrants.
"The terms and references of initiating the VoIP business afresh should be similar to the previous one to ensure a level playing field," said chairman of a private international gateway (IGW) operator who obtained licence under the previous policy.
Otherwise, the private sector investment worth Tk 10-12 billion under the private would go down the drain, said an official requesting anonymity.
The caretaker government in April 2007 adopted the ILDTS Policy opening up the VoIP for the private sector.
A three-tier telecom infrastructure - international gateway (IGW), Interconnection Exchange (ICX) and Access Network Services (ANS) - was established under that policy.
The caretaker government had offered three IGW licences, two ICXs and one Internet Exchange (IX) licence to private sector following an open auction.
Only the companies fully owned by resident Bangladeshi citizens were qualified for the licences offered during the caretaker government.
Foreign company or foreign joint venture was barred from applying for licence.
Fixed or mobile phone operators were also not given the licence.
Before opening up of the VoIP smuggling of international calls by vested quarter was rampant.
Telecom experts said over 100 smugglers are still active in international call terminations due to inadequate measures to prevent them.
Currently, the smugglers are terminating around 15 million call-minutes per day and as the consequences the government is losing around US$ 310,500 worth of revenues.
Before opening up the VoIP to the private sector, the BTTB, currently known as Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTCL), was the only legal operator of the VoIP.
The BTRC fetches US cents 1.55 per call minute from the existing private operators as they provide 51.75 per cent of US cents 3.0 against every call minute to the exchequer, as fixed in the ILDTS policy adopted during the caretaker government.