BTRC revokes 7 PSTN licences

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has revoked seven out of a dozen licences to public switched telephone network (PSTN) operators amid no renewal application.

Tele Barta, Ranks Telecom, National Telecom, Bangla Phone, Westech Ltd, One Tel Communication and Integrated Services Ltd are the operators to face the licence cancellation, according to a BTRC notice issued on Monday (20 January).

Their operations without a license will be treated illegal and the companies have been asked to pay their overdue to the BTRC in 30 days.
Nationwide PSTN operators Tele Barta, Ranks and National Telecom did not apply for licence renewal since the expiration in 2022, while regional PSTN companies Bangla Phone, Westech and One Tel's licences expired in 2024.

Integrated Services that got licence in 2004 for rural PSTN services did not apply for renewal since its licence expiration in 2019.

After the cancellation, state owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited holds the only national PSTN licence, while WorldTel Bangladesh, Jalalabad Telecom, SA Telecom and Nextel Telecom are the remaining regional PSTN licence holders.

In the 2000s, the regulator issued the publicly switched network operator licences along with spectrum allocated for wireless land phones for both voice and internet services to the mass people.

The private PSTN operators acquiring over half a million subscribers faced a decline in business in the early 2010s amid lack of appeal and competitive disadvantages when mobile phone usage took off.

The struggle intensified in the following years when several private sector PSTN operators, including the top one Ranks Tel faced license cancellation due to regulatory crackdown on illegal trade in voice over internet protocol.

Months-long litigation let them get back licences, but none could grow from there.