Saarc telecom regulators meet in Dhaka today

Against the backdrop of Indo-Pakistan tensions and postponement of the top South Asian summit, Saarc nations will sit in Dhaka today to discuss telecom issues.

The three-day council of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulatory Council (SATRC), which is a body of all the telecom regulators in the Saarc region, will meet here with some common challenges, including regulation, spectrum management, tariff balancing and convergence of technologies.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is hosting the programme for the third time. A delegation from Iran will also take part in the meetings.

At a press conference at the BTRC office yesterday, its Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood said: “It is commendable that despite the postponement of the Saarc summit, other bodies of the Saarc bloc, such as SATRC, are functioning.”

Pakistan Telecommu-nication Authority's Chairman Syed Ismail Shah confirmed his participation in the event with some of his colleagues, said Mahmood.

Shah will chair a session while RS Sharma, the chairman of SATRC and chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, will chair another session.

The programme that will conclude on October 6 is being organised by the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) where senior officials of different telecom regulatory authorities of South-Asian countries will take part.

Law Minister Anisul Huq will inaugurate the council, while State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Shahriar Alam, SARTC Chairman RS Sharma and APT General Secretary Areewan Haorangsi will also speak.

Different technological issues will be discussed like 5G technology, cross border interference, high roaming charges for this region and some other regulatory challenges. Another 90 foreign and local experts will also take part in the council meetings. BTRC Vice Chairman Md Ahsan Habib Khan and other senior officials also attended the press meet.