BTTB launches pre-paid cards to be more competitive

Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB), the state-run land phone operator, launched pre- paid cards last week for as many as 10,000 customers initially in Dhaka city to come back in the competition in the land phone market.
It also includes a proposal to reduce its call rate, which now awaits the telecommunications ministry's endorsement, in its plan to give customers a better service as it turns into public limited company this month.
Industry insiders say this move by the BTTB, which enjoyed a monopoly in the country's land phone market up to 2005, will certainly fuel competition between public and private land line operators.
As per the plan, the customers whose numbers start with 93 , 834, 835, 95, 98, 885,805, 91, 815, 90, 895, 96 and 865 can convert their existing post-paid line to a pre-paid one. The BTTB's prepaid customers will also get broadband internet facility.
“The BTTB launched prepaid billing system to provide hassle free services to its customers. If it succeeds, it could be expanded,” Iqbal Mahmud, secretary to the Ministry of Telecommuni-cations, told The Daily Star yesterday.
According to the BTTB's new pre paid billing system, monthly line rent and VAT (Value added tax) will be deducted from the card automatically. The present BTTB's line rent in Dhaka is Tk80. The BTTB initially has launched two prepaid cards of Tk200 and Tk500.
Commenting on the BTTB's prepaid billing system, Masrur Nawaz Waiz, head of operation and coordination at RanksTel, the country's leading private land line operator, said, “We should welcome it. Because any new initiative from a rival will encourage others to do better for the customers.”