BTRC eyes overhauling telecom amid concerns over political favouritism, monopolies

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is set to initiate a major review of the country's telecom ecosystem following widespread concerns about the negative impact of politically motivated licensing and market monopolies.

BTRC Chairman Maj Gen (retired) Md Emdad Ul Bari made the announcement during a press briefing after a stakeholders' meeting titled "Revisiting Telecom Ecosystem: Bangladesh Perspective," held at the BTRC office in Dhaka.

He said the awarding of various telecommunication licences to politically favoured people, ignoring their capability and sustainability, has created performance and delivery issues across the telecommunication ecosystem and now the BTRC eyes a major review of the entire ecosystem.

The telecom regulator is planning for rigorous expert consultations, both locally and internationally, to reshape the telecom sector over the next two years, he added.

The chairman said BTRC's independence was curtailed in 2010 after the need for a prior ministry approval was introduced, even for the regulator's routine work, such as renewing licences.

This should be changed. However, the reforms must be completed before 2027, as many licences will expire by then, he added.

Talking on the issue after the meeting, Technology expert Suman Ahmed Sabir told The Business Standard, "Other than formulation of key policies, the ministry should not be consulted by an independent regulator."  

Md Rokonuzzaman, a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North South University, in his keynote speech, questioned the necessity of multiple layers within both voice calling and internet ecosystems. 

He said market monopolies need to be dismantled to foster healthy competition. 

According to stakeholders at the meeting, a large number of the licence holders proved their suspected lack of capabilities to invest and deliver, while some riding on the political bias, created worse examples of creating liabilities within the ecosystem and later left the industry.

The politically motivated licensing regime left a large number of non-performing licence holders, while some emerged as market monopolies or duopolies, they added.  

Responding to the stakeholders' concern, the BTRC chairman said the telecom sector now faces some private sector monopolies and healthy competition should be encouraged.

He also agreed with concerns over the current licensing regime, admitting that there are too many unnecessary licences. 

Alongside a large number of unnecessary licences, there has been debates about the layers in the telecommunication architecture and the BTRC chief assured of a thorough review of the points as part of its reform drive.

For instance, separate licences had been issued for both voice and data ecosystems' international connectivity, international gateways, nationwide backbone network, interconnection and portability exchanges.

Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) former president Mahtab Uddin Ahmed advocated for BTRC reform and emphasised the need for the regulator's independence. 

He also called for unified licences to reduce barriers and promote resource optimization through infrastructure sharing.

Telecom infrastructure has long been a key sector to attract large investments and the headroom is still big, speakers said, adding that the BTRC should focus more on encouraging industry growth rather than primarily acting as a revenue collector. 

Currently, the BTRC collects 5% of industry revenue, and a 15% value-added tax (VAT) is imposed by the tax authority, which have been criticised for raising consumer prices.

Despite mobile subscription numbers surpassing the population, over 40% of Bangladesh's population remains unconnected. 

Consumers have expressed frustrations over the high cost and poor quality of telecom services, highlighting the urgency of reforms in the sector.