Post and Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Tuesday told Parliament that state-owned mobile phone operator Teletalk Bangladesh Limited owes some Tk 1694.73 crore to the government. The minister said this replying to a question from Awami League lawmaker AKM Sarwar Jahan. The question-answer session was tabled in the House after the day’s sitting began with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair. Of the total outstanding amount, Tk 1585.13 crore is for 3G spectrum assignment fee, while Tk 27.15 crore for spectrum charge, Tk 33.79 crore for revenue share and Tk 48.66 crore for SOF (Service Order Form), said Mustafa Jabbar. He said Citycell has an outstanding payment of Tk 128.698 crore with the government.  

The High Court on Sunday directed the authorities concerned to take necessary steps against former Assistant General Manager (AGM; System Operations) of Teletalk SM Tarek Rahman in the case filed for embezzling Tk 9.74 crore. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) and Secretary of Home Affairs have been asked to issue Interpol red notices in order to alert international authorities of the compulsion to arrest the fugitive. They have also been asked to inform the High Court in the form of an affidavit on October 16. Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after hearing a petition filed by ACC. Advocate Rafiqul Islam Sohel appeared for the writ petition in the court, while Advocate AKM Fazlul Haque for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Besides, Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state. Read: 3 held for importing liquor under false declaration According to the case statement, company secretary Mahbubur Rahman filed a case at Gulshan police station on October 12, 2011. ACC pressed charges against the accused in court after investigating the case. The Divisional Special Judge of Dhaka on May 6, 2019, sentenced SM Tarek Rahman to 5 years imprisonment and fined Tk 3 crores under section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The accused embezzled the money by calling generated Teletalk SIM without billing and converted prepaid SIM to postpaid between October 2010 to June 2011, the statement added.  

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has fined four mobile phone operators, including State-owned telecom operator Teletalk, Tk 7.65 crore on allegations of operating illegal VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). BTRC fined Teletalk Tk 5 crore, Robi Tk 2 crore, while Grameenphone and Banglalink were fined Tk 50 lakh and Tk 15 lakh respectively for disobeying the commission's directive and licensing conditions, said BTRC notification. Also read:BTRC's spectrum auction: Govt earns revenue of Tk 10,645 crore These operators have been instructed to pay the administrative fines by June 30. The letter signed by BTRC Secretary Md Nurul Hafiz was recently sent to the mobile operators concerned, it said. The BTRC fined these operators after hearing over the seizure of SIM (subscriber identity module) used in illegal VoIPs while conducting drives at various times. Also read: HC forms committee to supervise BTRC’s activities to solve mobile service issues The BTRC has also warned the operators to comply with some instructions. The commission has seized 32,845 SIMs of Teletalk, 16,390 of Robi, 2,356 of Grameenphone and 753 of Banglalink, it added.

Banglalink and Teletalk have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities to share their respective telecom infrastructures. Erik Aas, chief executive officer of Banglalink, and Md Shahab Uddin, managing director of Teletalk, signed the agreement in the capital. Under the agreement, the operators will explore and assess scopes and technical feasibility of sharing their telecom infrastructures and facilities in compliance with the infrastructure sharing guidelines, tower sharing guidelines and all other relevant laws and regulations. Read:No data charge for e-transactions on Upay app for Banglalink customers At the signing ceremony, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said: "Telecom operators need to come up with new collaborative approaches to ensure more enhanced service quality for customers. This kind of initiative has the potentiality to overhaul and advance the industry in the long run." Erik said: "Banglalink will always seek opportunities to partner with other telecom stakeholders to strengthen the industry's infrastructure, which can lead to a better quality of services and improved cost-efficiency. I would like to thank Teletalk for coming forward in this regard and expect to see this joint initiative bringing positive results in many areas." Shahab said, "We are delighted to sign this MoU with Banglalink today. It is opening an opportunity for us to maximise the use of our infrastructures collaboratively."

State-owned telecom operator Teletalk has tied up with Chinese telecom giant Huawei to roll out 5G in Bangladesh. Huawei Bangladesh will provide infrastructure and technical support to Teletalk for deploying 5G networks – to be launched on December 12. A signing ceremony between Teletalk and Huawei was held in the capital a few months back. Read: Malaysian PM inaugurates Huawei customer solution innovation center Under this contract, Huawei will provide the industry-leading and globally-acclaimed technology to Teletalk for ensuring a seamless 5G experience.

The fifth-generation (5G) technology for broadband cellular network will be launched in Bangladesh on a trial basis this year, said Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar. The minister revealed the information at 'BSRF Dialogue' organized by the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF) at the Media Centre of the Secretariat on Wednesday. “All preparations are complete. You’ll be happy to know that state-owned telecom operator Teletalk will launch the fifth-generation (5G) technology on trial run,” Mostafa Jabbar said, adding that the government will arrange an auction for 5G spectrum for other operators in 2022. Jabbar said Teletalk has already prepared five sites. “We’ll expand it in 2022 and a spectrum auction will be held in the first quarter of 2022. Hopefully, all operators will be able to develop 5G technology from 2022.” Read: 5G to be rolled out through Teletalk by December: Jabbar

State-owned telecom operator Teletalk will roll out fifth-generation (5G) technology for broadband cellular networks by December, with other operators following in 2022, Posts and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar said Saturday. "The technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) would be 5G. We have already tested 5G through Huawei and Robi, which has boosted our confidence," the minister said. Read 5G: Oppo teams up with Ericson to launch updated communication lab He was speaking at the webinar "5G Ecosystem in Bangladesh and Upcoming Technologies" organised by the Telecom Reporters' Network Bangladesh (TRNB). Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said the process of launching 5G in Dhaka city by this year is at the final stage. "Teletalk has started making preparations for the launch. Work related to the formulation of a broadband policy is also underway." Read: Planning to launch 5G by end of this year: Joy

The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Tuesday approved a Tk 2204-crore project to expand and modernise Teletalk so that it can provide 4G services even in rural areas at a cheaper rate. The approval came from the weekly Ecnec meeting chaired by its chairperson Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The PM joined the virtual meeting from her official residence, while other Ecnec members attended it from the NEC conference room.   Read:Govt to spend Tk 4,167cr on 10 projects, Ecnec gives nod “Today’s meeting approved a total of 10 projects with an overall estimated cost of Tk 7,985.51 crore (only additional cost of a revised project counted here). Of these, nine are new and the remaining one is a revised project,” said Planning Minister MA Mannan while briefing reporters after the meeting.   Of the total cost, Tk 6,660.29 crore will be borne from the national exchequer, while Tk 173.09 crore from the own funds of the organisations concerned and the remaining Tk 1,188.13 crore will come as foreign loans, he said.   Read Fortify action-oriented approach to attain green growth: PM tells P4G Summit

 

Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Wednesday said that digitalisation of education is necessary to turn the country’s 65 percent of youth into manpower.