Ghost billing under analog system

Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) has failed to implement its plan to convert 26,000 analog telephones into digital ones in the city by December last year, sources concerned said.

There are 2,33, 923 telephones in the capital, of which 1, 77,923 are digital and 56,000 are analog telephones. Conversion of all those into digital is scheduled to be completed by June this year.

Life span of an analog telephone exchange is 15 years and in case of most of the exchanges in the city, this has expired, the sources mentioned.

Thousands of subscribers are facing problems due to poor service and 'ghost billing' under the 'obsolete' analog telephone system, some sufferers told this correspondent.

A section of T&T employees are compelling subscribers to pay toll to them by making ghost telephone bills, they alleged.

Even T&T linemen allegedly create problem for analog telephone subscribers to get tips for restoration of connection.

A political leader alleged that recently he received a bill of Tk 1,34,201 for five months for his analog telephone no: 500955. BTTB snapped his connection to compel him to pay the bill, he said.

Earlier also he had received a similar ghost bill amounting Tk 50,615 in 1997 and following complaints, the bill was reduced to Tk 4,739.

The victim said he sent a telegram to the Prime Minister drawing her attention to this.

The existing 56,000 analog lines are under seven exchanges. The exchanges and the number of lines are:

1) Central (23 level) 10,000 lines, 2) Central (24 level) 10,000 lines, 3) Maghbazar (40 level) 6,000 lines, 4) Maghbazar (41 level) 9,500 lines, 5) Nilkhet (50 level) 10,000 lines, 6) S.B Nagar (32 level) 7,000 lines, 7) Gulshan (60 level) 9,000 lines.

All the exchanges will be replaced after commissioning of new exchanges under Greater Dhaka Telephone Project, Phase-2.

"It is beyond of capacity of BTTB to replace the existing 56,000 analog telephones by digital phones by the year 2000", he said preferring anonymity.

Another official however said, "BTTB has long been working to achieve the target."

The telephone network in the capital and some other places is being expanded under two projects. The first project includes ducting network for inter-exchange junctions with optical fibre cables and tandem exchanges at the Central Exchange while the second project covers optical fibre junctions and tandem exchanges at Sher-e-bangla nagar.