Legal reforms needed to enhance service quality: BTRC chair
Mobile operators at the roundtable complained that the three NTTN operators still have 53% of their over 1.71 lakh kilometre fibers over the head that cause poor performance
Highlights:
- BTRC supports dark fibre for mobile operators pre-5G rollout
- Mobile operators barred from building fibre networks since 2009
- 53% fibre network is overhead, affecting performance
- Bangladesh ranks 70th out of 93 in the 2023 Fiber Development Index
- NTTN now covers all upazilas and over 4,000 unions
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is prioritising improved telecommunications services for the public over revenue considerations for both the industry and the state, according to BTRC Chairman Maj Gen (retd) Md Emdad Ul Bari.
Speaking at a roundtable, Bari today said, "We need to revise the legal framework to enhance service quality, as it is a crucial component of the stakeholders' triangle – services, financial sustainability of ecosystem players, and state revenue."
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Telecom and Technology Reporter's Network, Bangladesh organised the event titled "Importance of Nationwide Telecommunication Network for the Future of Bangladesh" at BTRC office in the capital's Agargaon.
In response to telecom operators' complaints about service quality affected by the performance of dedicated transmission companies, Bari said he supports the introduction of dark fibre for mobile operators ahead of the 5G rollout.
Dark fiber might hurt Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) revenue while telecom operators might enjoy a volume-pushed scaling up to lower prices, industry experts told TBS.
In a move to separate telecom services and the backbone infrastructures, the BTRC in 2009 barred mobile operators from laying the backbone fiber optic cables and left the business for dedicated NTTN operators.
Mobile operators at the roundtable complained that the three NTTN operators still have 53% of their over 1.71 lakh kilometre fibers over the head that cause poor performance. The largest two private NTTN operators Fiber@Home Limited and Summit Communications Limited have only 16%-28% of their fiber underground as asked in the guideline.
Besides, less than a third of the country's over 45,000 mobile towers are connected through fiber which should be much higher for seamless affordable services as the backbone cable connectivity is better than the wireless ones, they said.
Bangladesh in 2023 ranked at 70 out of 93 countries in the Fiber Development Index Analysis by Omdia, slightly ahead of countries like Pakistan, Uganda, and Nigeria, said Shahedul Alam, Robi Axiata's chief corporate and regulatory officer, criticising the policy that is not allowing telecom operators invest in backbone infrastructures.
Nigeria is the only country that has such a bar in backbone fiber network, he said.
NTTN reaching to all upazilas and over 4,000 unions helped the national network expansion, but around 30% of the capital invested were provided by the state, said BTRC Chairman, pointing at the need for deep pocket investments in telecom infrastructure.
Representatives of Fiber@Home and Summit Communications, on the other hand, blamed the poor return on investments that threatens their financial sustainability and sought for a win-win proposition in the future industry landscape.
Moynul Haque Siddiqui, chairman of Fiber@Home, said telecom operators only spend 1% of their revenue with NTTN which is up to 7% in other countries.
Banglalink Chief Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Officer Taimur Rahman said mobile operators should also be allowed to lay fiber alongside stressing for more active sharing of industry resources.
Rashed Mehedi, former president of Telecom and Technology Reporters' Network, Bangladesh, called for collaborative solutions to the sector's infrastructure issues.
