The decline of telecoms tariff has been a universal trend. State-owned BTCL has, however, decided to double the monthly line rent and increase the call charges across the board. And they did it without giving a damn to the regulator. The usually rowdy BTRC is unusually calm about BTCL’s blatant noncompliance:
The (BTRC) officials said they overlook the flouting of the law by the BTCL as the high-ups of the telecom ministry are involved with the latter’s policy making.
The industry is unimpressed:
According to the telecom act, PSTN operators have to take prior approval of BTRC for any kind of tariff and charges. But it may be that BTRC is showing reluctance to enforce law regarding the government entity, said AKM Shamsuddin, Chief Executive Officer of Rankstel.
Now, let’s listen to the fairytale of the state-owned incumbent:
BTCL director Rafiqul Matin explaining the reasons for the hike in line rent and tariff said, “Maintenance cost and the price of copper cable have increased manifold during last few years. Even his company has to count extra money for replacing the stolen cable lines,” he mentioned.
“So there was no alternative but to raise the line rent to offset the rising expenditures,” the official claimed. It is mentioned that the revenue earning of the state run land phone operator from local source has gone down nearly 50 per cent in last ten year because of the increased use of mobile phones.
Meanwhile, the Anti-corruption Commission has, however, blamed to illegal bypassing of international calls for BTCL’s financial hemorrhage. Few BTCL heavyweights are being investigated and thrown behind the bar as well. The BTRC is, again, found unmoved. Everybody seems to be having a price tag. Everybody…
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