PSTN business no more lucrative to private cos!

Syed Ishtiaque RezabrPublic-Switch Telephone Network (PSTN), widely known as landline phones, is no more a lucrative business to the private companies, which have obtained licences from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). brMany of the PSTN companies, who have invested over Tk. 15 billion, are thinking of leaving the business or surrendering licences. brBig business house Square has already surrendered its PSTN licence and many others are trying to get rid of it as the business is no more worthwhile to them, said a high official of the Rankstel, the market leader among the operators. brOf the total investment, Rankstel alone invested over Tk. 2.5 billion. But it is not enough, you need to invest much more to do business across the country, said the Rankstel official adding most of the operators could not think that the required investment was so high. brIn addition to the government owned Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Ltd. (BTCL), Dhaka Phone, Rankstel, National Telecom, Tele Barta and People's Telecom at present are operating across the country. brAmong the zonal licencees Bangla Phone, One Tel and Jalalabad Telecom are operating in the North-East Zone, Westec Ltd, S A Telecom and Nextel Telecom are in the South-East zone. Integrated Services Ltd. has the licence as the local operator. brBut none of the company's economic health is sound, according market insiders. The landline phone industry has turned into a burden for many of the licencees. The wireless landline operation in the private sector began in 2005 with a big hope that it could grab a sizeable portion of the rising telecom market in Bangladesh. brTo end the monopoly of the BTCL (formerly BTTB) and ensure competition in the market BTRC has issued 19 PSTN licenses. So far, none of the operators could reach the breakeven point. brThe Rankstel official blamed the BTRC saying that the mobile operators are given too much policy support. He particularly blamed the small phone booths, run by cell phone operators, for eating up the business of the PSTN operators. Refuting the allegation, a BTRC official said We cannot dictate the marketing policies of the private entrepreneurs. br