New telecom topology sacrifices local industry: IGW Operators

The IGW Operators Forum (IOF) criticised the proposed new telecom network and licensing topology alleging that it will sacrifice local telecom entrepreneurs' interest to favour the foreign players. 

Seventy five percent of the Bangladesh telecom businesses are being controlled by foreign companies. A further rise will lead to collapse of nearly a hundred local firms operating as international voice or data gateways, interconnection exchanges and several other service providers, IOF leaders said at a press briefing in the capital today.

IOF President Asif Rabbani urged the regulator to protect the Tk5,000 crore cumulative local investments in the International Gateway (IGW) sector by letting them route all the incoming international machine generated SMS, "as outlined in the existing International Long Distance Telecommunication Services Policy."

According to him, over 3 crore international incoming application to person (A2P) messages are entering Bangladesh every month that have no local regulatory tariff. 

The government is getting at best $0.16 million in revenue share per month, he said, alleging that the mobile operators that are being allowed to continue the business through a non-transparent arrangement. 

"If the business is given to the IGW operators, as per the ILDTS Policy 2010, the government revenue will jump eight times to $1.25 million per month," Asif Rabbani said.

The sought move will also help the IGW industry survive in the evolving business context, he added. 

The IGW operators made a cumulative contribution of more than Tk10,000 crore in the government exchequer since 2008 and the new topology, if implemented, would hurt their businesses. 

IGW operators route all international voice calls since 2008, earn their revenue from incoming calls and share it with the ecosystem partners and the government. 

Initially starting with only 3 IGW licenses in 2008, Awami League government in 2012 raised the total to 29 as the lucrative business attracted too many players. 

However, with the rise of app based internet calling, international incoming cellular calls have dropped by more than 85% to 12 million minutes a day. 

IOF Chief Operating Officer Mushfique Manzoor said the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's (BTRC) own policy dictated that the international A2P SMS would be routed by IGW operators. But the regulator never allowed it, depriving the industry of promised business. 

However, the ILDTS Policy praised for increasing government oversight of the business volume also has long been criticised for creating excessive layers rising consumers' cost as every layer involves profiteering and government's revenue share, be it for voice calls or internet data.

Six IGW operators, owned by Awami League politicians, shut down without clearing over Tk1,400 crore dues. 

The regulator and the IOF in 2015 entered into a new arrangement creating two layers within the IGW sector. A group of seven operators were picked to form a consortium to own a new switch to route all calls to other IGW operators, ensure oversight and the government's revenue share. 

The BTRC recently dismantled the additional switch and IOF said it now requires further investments, following the industry's latest spell of Tk200 crore in new technologies. 

The BTRC, in a bid to network and licensing regime simplification and deregulation, prepared its new topology where the entire telecom industry is divided into three broader licensing categories—international connectivity services, national infrastructure connectivity services and the access network services. 

Voice and data gateway and interconnection exchange licenses will not be renewed after the existing tenure, firms instead will migrate to their broader category license. 

Mushfique Manzoor alleged that the new topology will help strengthen foreign oligopoly in the telecom market. 

IOF demanded a strong resistance against any interest group's presence in multiple broader layers of the upcoming network topology alongside protection of local investments. 

The press briefing followed a workshop "International Gateway: Challenges and Potentials" jointly organised by IOF and the Telecom and Technology Reporters Network Bangladesh.