Telecom regulator to go tough on operators for dues

The telecom regulator will go tough on some operators, including two state-run firms, as they have failed to pay around Tk 5,000 crore in dues despite reminders.
The dues comprise revenue sharing amounts and licence and spectrum fees.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the regulator, is now considering options such as cancelling their licences or spectrums and filing cases against them, an official said.
A decision will be taken soon after consulting the telecom ministry, which is the licensing authority, BTRC Secretary Sarwar Alam said.
The regulator will also sit with the operators, especially the state-owned ones, he said.
Of the outstanding amount, the two state-run companies -- Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTCL) and Teletalk -- alone owe Tk 3,200 crore.
The BTCL has recently paid Tk 1,480 crore, and still has Tk 1,600 crore in dues, which is a portion of its revenue earned from international calls and was supposed to be shared with the government, another BTRC official said.
The regulator last year provided 10 megahertz spectrum in the 2,100 MHz airwave to the state-owned mobile operator, Teletalk, for 3G rollout. The price of the spectrum was Tk 1,600 crore, but the operator is yet to pay the amount.
Four private mobile operators --Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Airtel, who rolled out 3G networks, have paid the spectrum charges in time.
The third and fourth largest defaulters are the international gateways that transport overseas calls to and from the country, and interconnection exchanges that connect telecom operators with international gateways. They owe around Tk 1,450 crore.
Citycell is the lone private mobile operator that has Tk 250 crore in dues. Though the regulator sent the operator several reminders, it could not pay the amount due to a fund crisis.
Among others, WiMax operator Banglalion owes Tk 40 crore and some international internet gateways Tk 10 crore.