BTRC to go tough against errant IGW operators

The telecom regulator is set to go tough against the international gateway (IGW) operators which failed to pay the outstanding dues including renewal fee of licence and revenue sharing within the stipulated time, officials  said.

According to the official data, only nine operators out of total 29 IGWs including state-run company BTCL (Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited) paid their dues in time.

Operators that have already cleared their dues are: BanglaTrac, Mirtel, Novotel, Global Voice Telecom, Asia Alliance, DBL Telecom Limited, BG Tel, BIGL and Cel Telecom.   

Some 19 other IGW operators excluding BTCL owed to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) nearly Tk 6.8 billion until July 15, 2014.

"This time the regulator is very strict about collecting the dues from the gateway operators and some defaulting operators may face permanent farewell", a top official with the regulator said.

Preferring anonymity, the official said despite repeated warning and notices, some companies don't pay heed to the issue. Even some of them have remained absconding to avoid punishment.

"The regulator has already closed the operations of six gateway operators and closure of some five others are under process as they grossly violated the telecom rules and regulations", the official added.

The closed operators are: Kay Telecommunications, Bestec Telecom Limited, Vision Tel Limited and Ratul Telecom.   

The watchdog has given a fresh ultimatum to a defaulting gateway operator, Ratul Telecom Limited, to pay the outstanding bills worth Tk 0.89 billion by July 30, the official noted.

"We gave the last chance to pay the dues after request from the operator," it said and added that it also warned of tougher action against the company if it fails to clear the dues.

Besides, the Kay Telecommunication has remained unnoticed since late 2013 with nearly Tk 0.78 billion lying overdue. Failing to recover the dues from the IGW operator, the BTRC took recourse to the legal procedure.

On May 20, the commission published a notice in the media asking the company to reply within ten days since the publication of the notice, but the operator failed to respond as yet.

The notice signed by BTRC Deputy Director Sajeda Parvin also indicated further legal procedures against the IGW operator in the event of failure to respond.

In addition, the authorities will also take legal action including filing criminal cases against the defaulters. "Usually, we file a case under the public demand recovery act against a defaulting company," the official added.