Telecom regulator's recommendation to lower the rate of international incoming call termination has apparently remained blocked under the bureaucratic red tapes, according to the sector insiders.
For the last couple of months, letters were being exchanged between the regulator and the finance ministry, but no concrete outcome is yet to be visible regarding reduction of the rate of international incoming call termination, they said.
Sources said that Bangladesh Telecommunica-tion Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman and a few ministers announced to lower the call rate from the existing 3.0 per cent to 1.5 per cent each minute; but the announcement is yet to be materialised.
The BTRC also opined that the 'illegal' VOIP calls will be decreased if the international call rate is lowered, discouraging the illegal VOIP traders to carry out their clandestine operations.
The telecom regulator is also in favour of lowering the rate for the losses IGW and VSP operators.
Proceedings to lower the call rate started in last February; a letter was issued in this connection from the finance ministry. Keeping this matter in the dark for several months, a letter was sent to the ministry of post and telecommunication to review it, the sources said. Â
When contacted for update about the procedures, telecom secretary Md Abubakar Siddique said "The finance ministry sent us letters to review the matter. We are working on it and it is in progression."
"The entire matter depends squarely on the ministry of finance", he added.
However, he could not say when the proceedings would come to an end, reflecting that bureaucratic red tapes made the matter complicated.
On the other hand, BTRC chairman Sunil Kanti Bose directly opined to lower the call rate. "The matter is now under consideration of the finance ministry. We are expecting that if the rate of international calls termination is lowered to 1.5 per cent from the existing 3.0 per cent each minute, it will be reducing the illegal VOIP operatives."
In a cabinet meeting on June 30, such a proposal was placed. Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu placed the recommendation in the miscellaneous part of the meeting while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was at the chair, another cabinet member, who was present at the meeting, confirmed the matter seeking anonymity.
The minister informed that the information minister said, "The demand for illegal VOIP business will be lowered if the international call rate is lowered. The illegal VOIP traders will also be discouraged."
"People talk to the expatriates and abroad for different purposes. If the call rate is lowered, they will be encouraged to use legal ways instead of taking any unethical approach. This will eventually boosting revenue collection", added Hasanul Haq Inu, who was also a member in the parliamentary standing committee for post and telecommunications during the previous government.
The local rate has been lowered to at least 10 times in the last decade. Meanwhile, with the span of time, the international call termination rate has also been lowered across the globe.
In neighbouring India, the rate is about $.01 while in other countries, the rate is apparently close.
A decade ago, the rate of calling from abroad was in significant volume as internet was not available. However, with rampant growth of internet, the IGW operators are in the face of severe challenges. Â
Back in 2012, there were only four IGW operators which now stand at 25.
Meanwhile, in last two years, volume of call didn't increase but the number of IGW operators were increased to 6-7 times. Besides, the VOIP traders are also running businesses.
As a result, the IGW operators are yet to provide revenue to the government as they were unable to yield profit. The operators invested a large amount of money to take licenses. Couple of new IGW operators are now pondering to close operations being unable to pay the revenues.
On the other hand, the BTRC is planning to sue those operators for not paying the revenues, said the sources.
The BTRC provided licenses to 900 VOIP operators in March 2013. But these new license earners are facing the illegal VOIP music for lack of understanding of the business, they said.
Some of them are of the view that the illegal VOIP will be completely shut down if the international call termination rate is lowered.
Chief Executive of Unique Info, an IGW operator, Md Mahtabul Amin said, "Already several IGW operators have closed their offices. Their entire investment, that mounts thousand crore in Bangladeshi currency, has been turned out into a total loss." Â
He further opined VOIP could not only be stopped through the operations of the law enforcers. He was in favour of deceasing the call rate for discouraging the VOIP trades. Â
Mr Amin further said, "We ought to receive 70-80 million minutes of calls. But we are getting hardly half of that as the call rate is three cent per minute. If the call rate is reduced, the volume of calls will be increased significantly as people will be opting for legal ways and subsequently the country will be benefitted from revenues."
He requested the government to consider these grounds while taking decisions into this matter.
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