'Politically driven' licensing puts international terrestrial cable companies in crisis

Highlights:

• Bangladesh issued seven ITC licences despite guideline allowing only three
• Two NTTN firms, Summit and Fiber@Home, gained ITC licences unfairly
• Their dual roles enabled predatory pricing and market domination
• Smaller ITC firms suffered heavy losses; several shut down entirely
• Licensing decisions were politically influenced, overriding evaluation rankings
• BTRC now reviewing ITC sector to prevent future irregularities by 2027

When Bangladesh's telecom regulator opened the door for International Terrestrial Cable (ITC) operations in 2012 to complement the country's submarine cable network, the goal was to expand bandwidth capacity and ensure redundancy. But 13 years later, most of the private ITC licensees are struggling – or have already shut down due to what insiders describe as "a politically influenced and unequal licensing process".

According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) guideline, a maximum of three ITC licences was to be issued. Yet, in practice, seven companies received licences, including two that already held Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) permits – Summit Communications Ltd and Fiber@Home Global Ltd.

Industry insiders allege that the inclusion of these two NTTN holders violated the licensing conditions and distorted the market.

"The system was designed in a way that ITC operators would depend on NTTN networks to deliver bandwidth. But when NTTNs themselves got ITC licenses, they began importing and distributing bandwidth directly. That's where the entire balance was destroyed," said Brig Gen (retd) Md Khurshid Alam, CEO of Banglatel Group, one of the early ITC licensees.

Infograph:TBS

He said the ITC firms invested Tk2 crore each to obtain licences, along with additional setup costs and Tk57 lakh in annual renewal fees. Despite all the investments, there's no business left.

"We have no business left now. Politically motivated licensing has completely destroyed the market. Smaller companies like us are counting losses every year," he said.

"Under the 2012 guideline, ITC companies were supposed to import bandwidth from India and deliver it to the local market through NTTN operators. However, since Summit and Fiber@Home also received ITC licenses, they began importing and distributing bandwidth themselves, minimising transmission costs and undercutting competitors through cross-subsidisation and predatory pricing," said another affected company's CEO.  

As a result, he said, smaller ITC firms like Asia Alliance Communication, BD Link Communication, Novocom, and Mango Teleservices Ltd had to pay additional fees to use Summit and Fiber@Home's NTTN networks. Some of these firms have already shut down, while others are operating at heavy losses – one reporting over Tk50 crore in operating expenses without viable returns.

According to official evaluation documents, Novocom Ltd ranked first among applicants in 2012 with 91.36 marks, followed by One Asia-AHJV (88.06) and BD Link Communication (87.85). In contrast, Summit and Fiber@Home scored 81.83 and 80.19.

Despite their lower evaluation scores, Summit and Fiber@Home received licenses, allegedly thanks to political influence. A senior official at the time admitted that "decisions came from higher administrative levels."

Former BTRC chairman Zia Ahmed, under whose tenure the decision was made, defended the move at the time, saying it was aimed at "enhancing competition." But current BTRC officials admit that the licensing process was politically influenced.

"Seven licenses were far more than the market could sustain," said Brig Gen Iqbal Ahmed, Commissioner (Engineering and Operations) at BTRC. "We had recommended three, but additional licenses were approved under pressure. Those agreements, unfortunately, were signed for 15 years."

He added that the regulator is now reviewing the ITC sector ahead of the license expiry in June 2027 as part of the new Telecommunication Network and Licensing Policy, aimed at preventing future irregularities.

From promise to peril

The ITC licensing policy was introduced when Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) – the state-owned operator – was supplying nearly 90% of the country's total bandwidth through its submarine link with Singapore. The government wanted a terrestrial backup route via India to ensure uninterrupted data connectivity.

The plan seemed feasible: a few specialised private companies would import bandwidth and supply it through existing NTTN operators. But when Summit and Fiber@Home – already dominant NTTN players – were granted ITC licenses as well, they gained a structural advantage over others.

Their dual role allowed them to cut transmission costs, bundle multiple services, and use cross-subsidisation to sell bandwidth at predatory prices, pushing smaller ITC firms out of the market.

"Summit and Fiber@Home have end-to-end control – from importing bandwidth to transmitting it nationwide. No independent ITC company can compete with that," said a senior telecom industry analyst who requested anonymity.

Industry experts say the fallout has been severe. Over a decade later, the ITC sector remains dominated by just two NTTN-linked companies, while independent licensees have been left uncompetitive.