The government has started replacing the existing fixed telephones of Dhaka city with modern ones in order to keep revenue from falling, officials said.
Under the initiative, the Bangladesh Telecommu-nications Company Ltd (BTCL) has started replacing 0.11 million fixed phones in the first phase through which the company will ensure triple play (voice, video and data) telecommunication services of international standard to its clients.
The state-run telecom operator has also a plan to provide 95,000 new lines under the same project.
According to the project profile, the modern system will also provide high-speed data services (up to 20 mbps) to the users.  Â
Besides, the Tk 2.48 billion project has also been designed to introduce different types of value added services (VAS) like IPTV, video on demand (VoD), online gaming etc by which the company officials believe that the revenue earnings would be boosted up.
"We have started replacing old phone lines across the Dhaka city. The new connections would ensure a hassle-free service to the users," project director (PD) Swapon Kumar Saha told the FE Tuesday.
"Besides, the new connections would ensure speedy data services to the users along with introducing different types of value added services by the BTCL," he added.
According to the PD, introduction of the new connections would minimise uses of copper cable and will be established through fiber optic cable. Speed and services of the new numbers would increase many folds.
"After completion of the project, we have a plan to introduce different types of value added services like IPTV, video on demand (VoD), online gaming etc to revamp the company's revenue earnings."
"We hope, the modern facility-rich phones will raise the BTCL's revenue income significantly," he added.
According to Mr Swapon Kumar, oldest and trouble-torn exchanges like those of Moghbazar, Gulshan, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Nilkhet, Babu Bazar etc would be replaced on priority basis.
However, despite being the oldest telecom operator in the country and having 50 years of experience in various services such as landline, internet, backhaul and international gateway or call handling, customers were losing interest in the BTCL after emergence of private telecom operators for mobile, WiMax and international gateways or transmission services.
Data showed that the state-run land phone operator has lost more than 20,000 subscribers in the past one year, owing to its lack of post-sales service.
Although the BTCL can now provide 1.37 million landline connections, nearly 28 per cent of its total capacity remains unutilised till date, data showed.
The BTCL data showed that the number of land line users in Dhaka city came down to around 0.87 million till June 2014 which was 0.92 million in 2009.
The data also showed that the use of landline phone declined to 57 per cent in June 2014 from 69 per cent in 2009.
"Poor service quality, inefficient complaints management and lethargic attitude of the officials in the BTCL are leading users to scrap their land phone connections," a telecom expert working for a private operator told the FE preferring anonymity.
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