BTRC
BTRC bonds with TKC Telecom to monitor mobile operators’ activities
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has bonded with Canada-based multi-national company TKC Telecom for purchase of a telecom monitoring system.
BRTC signed an agreement with TKC Telecom at BTRC office Monday.
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BTRC Director of Engineering and Operations Md. Golam Razzak and TKC Telecom CEO Samir Talhami signed the agreement on behalf of the companies.
According to the agreement, the company has to complete the installation of the telecom monitoring system within 180 days of signing the agreement.
The cabinet committee on public procurement approved the purchase of the telecom monitoring system at a cost of Tk 77.65 crore, said a press release.
Once the system is implemented, the process of collecting and reporting information from mobile operators will be automated. At the same time, it will be possible to observe all the necessary information in real time. This will ensure regular and reliable access to voice and data traffic, network usage and quality information as well as BTRC's revenue, the release also said.
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Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Mustafa Jabbar as the chief guest and Secretary of Posts and Telecommunications Md. Afzal Hossain as the special guest addressed the ceremony.
Cabinet body okays 10 proposals including import of petroleum fuel, LNG
The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase on Wednesday approved 10 procurement proposals including import of 1.235 million mts of petroleum fuel and 3.360 million MMBtu liquified natural gas (LNG) .
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the Cabinet body meeting.
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According to the meeting decisions, state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will import 1.234 million mts of petroleum fuel in different packages from Unipec Singapore Pte Ltd. Singapore, Petro China International (Singapore) Pte Ltd., VitoI Asia Pte Ltd., Singapore, and Emirates National Oil Company Pte Ltd, Singapore., at a total cost of Tk 5,774.45 crore (equivalent to about $683.366 million) over the next six months from June-December 2021.
The supplier companies were selected through international quotation, said Shamsul Arefin, additional secretary to the Cabinet Division while briefing reporters on the issue.
He, however, did not disclose what will be the premium of the product and which item of petroleum will be imported from the companies.
The Petrobangla and its subordinate body RPGCL will import 3.360 million MMBtu of LNG from Excelerate Energy LP, United States at a contract value of Tk 313.68 crore. The unit price of the LNG was not disclosed.
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The Cabinet committee approved a proposal of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) for awarding of a contract for procurement of design, development, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of telecom monitoring system for the telecom networks and systems of Bangladesh from TKC Telecom Inc, Canada at a cost of Tk 77.65 crore.
A proposal of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) to procure 3 passenger cruise vessels from Karnaphuli Ship Builders at Tk 231.13 crore received the approval of the committee.
The Cabinet body gave nod to a proposal of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority to appoint a service provider at Tk 218.71 crore for collecting fees and taxes from motor vehicles through online for next five years.
However, it was not disclosed which company won the contract for the job.
Read:Cabinet body OKs import of 250,000MT rice
Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) received the committee’s approval for procuring 30,000 metric tons of bagged granular urea fertiliser from Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company (Kafco) at a value of Tk 87.63 crore.
The Cabinet body approved a proposal of the Bangladesh Railway to change 9 points of the PCC (Particular Conditions of Contract) of the Commercial Contract and also its supplementary agreement -2 of the Padma Bridge Rail Connection Project with Chana Railway Group of China (CRÈC).
Shamsul Arefin said though the conditions of the contract will be changed, but it will not have any effect on the contract value.
Regulator shouldn't allow monopoly in MFS: Mustafa Jabbar
Healthy competition should be ensured in the fast-growing mobile financial services (MFS) segment for the benefit of the users and the operators, and the regulator needs to ensure that no one acts like a monster, said Post and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar Saturday.
Jabbar was addressing the webinar "Competition and Partnership in MFS Industry" organised by Telecom Reporters' Network Bangladesh (TRNB).
"Lack of interoperability is a huge bottleneck of this industry. If the banks can enjoy interoperability, then why cannot the MFS do it?" Jabbar asked.
Md Mofizul Islam, chair of Bangladesh Competition Commission said the market will not be sustainable if competition can be ensured.
"We have not got any complaint from the customers about substandard services that hurt market competition. However, it is our responsibility to sit with the Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to settle the issues as there are huge cross-cutting points among us when it comes to MFS," Mofizul said.
He said they wrote to the Bangladesh Bank one year earlier to know about the situation of MFS but are yet to get any reply.
However, BTRC chair Shyam Sunder Sikder said, "There is a monopoly in the MFS. Nagad was the first service provider to disrupt it. But still, the market competition is uneven. So regulations on the significant market power holder is needed. The cash-out charge of Tk 20 is not acceptable."
Dutch Bangla Bank is the parent company of Rocket, the first MFS carrier of the country. The bank's Managing Director Abul Kashem Md Shirin said 70% of the pricing for the service is enjoyed by agents. "Agents get benefitted in many ways as it is not their primary business. Only the regular users get affected."
Tanvir A Mishuk, co-founder and managing director of Nagad, said, "A fair competition will only help the end-users. Two years back, when we started, the monopoly in the market beggared belief. We have reduced the cash-out or send money charge."
Mizanur Rashid, the chief commercial officer of bKash, said the government should take decisions based on a win-win situation for all. "The time and travel costs are not being taken into consideration while referring to the high charges."
Barrister M Iftekhar Jonaed, a lawyer of the Supreme Court, said the competition commission has the legal capacity to intervene in the sector to break the monopoly. "One of the tasks of the commission is to ensure that no firm enjoys an undue advantage because of its monopoly market share."
TRNB Secretary General Samir Kumar Dey said, "As one operator is holding the majority of the market share, the cost for cash out or bill pay at the user side is not going down. Although some small operators are trying to lower the service costs, it is not becoming effective because of the uneven competition."
Huawei Carrier Congress 2021 begins in Bangladesh
Huawei Technologies Bangladesh has started a special event titled "Huawei Carrier Congress 2021" with industry stakeholders from home and abroad to exchange views about technology trends and business solutions.
Inspired by the theme "Lighting up the Future," the event will shed light on issues related to intelligent networks, digital operations and maintenance, the foundation for digital services, and 5GtoB.
Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar virtually inaugurated the event on Thursday and it will continue until the end of May.
The telecom operators, partners, regulators, think tanks, academia, from Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal are expected to join this event in the next few days virtually and physically, maintaining health guidelines.
Huawei Global Public Affairs Vice-President Edward Zhou said, "The congress will be showcasing almost all the latest solutions and ways of digital transformation around the globe and intensify the growth opportunity of ICT in Bangladesh. It can work as a bridge for collaborative and common understanding among the regulator, operators, and other business industry players."
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Chinese telecom giant Huawei will be showcasing the latest innovations from their research and development for knowledge sharing. With this demonstration, the industry players will be well aware of the potential ICT inclusions to different industries and how those inclusions can be beneficial in the socio-economic aspect. The congress will also discuss innovations in the telecom sector.
Mustafa Jabbar said at the event: "The rapid march of Bangladesh towards comprehensive digital transformation is very encouraging and satisfying indeed. An event like today will also contribute a lot as it will inspire us to think out of the box and explore ideas necessary to cope with an intelligent world awaiting us soon."
BTRC Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder, said: "Huawei has organised this congress as a common platform to facilitate the exchange of knowledge among national and international organisations and individuals. This arrangement has a great potential to amplify the digital growth of Bangladesh by broadening the thinking process of everyone."
Edward Zhou said: "As a localised global provider of ICT infrastructure, we will be helping industries expand by transcending the boundaries of their business and exploring new horizons, especially when it comes to digital innovation, to help digitize industries and improve people's lives for a smarter, faster, and more inclusive tomorrow about by the digital transformation here."
Also read: Huawei to invest $220 million in cloud ecosystem for 2021
Huawei Technologies Bangladesh Chief Executive Officer Zhang Zhengjun said, "This year, in Bangladesh, we commit to keep investment in talent cultivation and joint solution innovation with partners."
"There is an old saying: 'If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together. So let's stay together, and win together," he added.
BTRC reminds users of least-promoted service: 'Do Not Disturb' for promo texts!
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has asked mobile phone users to use the "Do Not Disturb" service to stop receiving unwanted and promotional texts on phones.
Mobile phone users often receive phone calls and messages that they do not want. Although such messages are sometimes meant for informing people, they can be annoying to many users.
Following the instructions of the BTRC, the mobile operators launched the option of blocking promotional SMSs for the customers several years ago.
However, unaware of the service, many customers still complain to the regulator about the nuisance texts.
So, the BTRC has started sensitising people about the solution that already exists for the problem.
Anyone who does not want to receive promotional SMS on their mobile can dial the following short code and activate the Do Not Disturb service, the regulator said in a statement on Saturday.
To stop it, Grameenphone users will have to dial *121*1101#, Banglalink users *121*8*6# and for Robi and Airtel it is *7#.
Grameenphone board approves 275% cash dividend
Grameenphone's board of directors Monday approved a 275% cash dividend for 2020 in its annual general meeting (AGM).
The 24th AGM was held through a digital platform following the instructions of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and the risk of the virus spreading among the participants of the meeting, the company said in a statement.
Grameenphone's board of directors announced a cash dividend of 145% of the paid-up capital or Tk14.5 per share of Tk10 each.
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With this cash dividend pay-out, the total cash dividend stands at 275% of the paid-up capital, including the previous 130% interim cash dividend pay-out, amounting to 99.86% of profit after tax for the year 2020.
At the meeting, Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman said: "In 2020, we were agile, innovative and delivered a solid performance by running our operations following contingent ways of work in the face of Covid-19 pandemic and natural calamities while ensuring the safety of our employees and our supply chain partners."
Grameenphone wants to focus on its operational efficiencies and strategies to ensure better coverage and customer-driven initiatives.
Also read: Grameenphone announces 15,500 4G towers in country
The company has acquired an additional 10.4 MHz spectrum in the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) auction, amounting to a total of 47.4 MHz spectrum.
On top of additional spectrum acquisition, Grameenphone has also celebrated 50 years of Bangladesh on March 26, 2021, by announcing all its 15,500 towers 4G enabled across Bangladesh.
Jorgen C Arentz Rostrup, chair of Grameenphone Board, said: "Our focus for the year ahead will be to ensure Grameenphone's long-term sustainability. We continue to adapt to the challenges of the current Covid-19 reality. The company focuses on ensuring a better network experience, ensuring growth, innovation, modernisation, and stand by society with responsible business conduct."
Read Grameenphone announces 15,500 4G towers in country
BTRC chief: Coordination key to turning things around in telecom
A lot of work has been done in the telecom sector, but a great deal of work remains to be done, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said on Sunday.
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