The launching of the commercial toll-free number call service in the country is being delayed as the telecom regulator has failed to provide the operators with the numbering plan for the service. According to BTRC officials, a directive which was issued last year for allowing the operators to run the toll-free number service of any private institution, contains a number prefix which is not fitting with the National Numbering Plan.
A toll-free number is an option where the number holder pays for the calls it receives. Callers need not to pay for their calls to a toll-free number.
According to the directive, the international toll-free (ITF) number will start with ‘0888’ prefix followed by seven digits and the local toll-free number (LTF) will start with ‘0800’ prefix followed by seven digits.
‘Those prefix is not matching with the NNP. So until the new prefix is set for the toll-free service, the operators will not be able to start the service,’ a senior BTRC official told New Age on Thursday.
When asked why the directive for toll-free service did not check the prefix with the NNP before issuance, he, however, declined to make any comment.
‘We are revising the NNP and the matter will be solved soon,’ he said.
The BTRC in December last year permitted the local PSTN operators and mobile phone operators to run toll-free number services for inbound and outbound call centres, multinational companies for their brands, calling card companies, international original equipment manufacturers, financial institutions like banks, insurance companies, money exchanges and global supply chain companies, and telecom companies.
The telecom regulator also allowed the international gateway operators to run international toll-free number service.
According to the directive, the entities can get a local toll-free number from the BTRC at Tk 5,000 and an international one at Tk 15,000.
International gateway operators will provide the clients with international toll-free numbers, subject to approval of the BTRC. Tariff rate for the ITF call will be minimum $0.05 per minute.
The tariff will be charged on the toll-free number holders (called party) or third party by the service providing IGW, said the draft directive.
The directive said that allocation fee for an ITF premium number would be Tk 30,000 and yearly renewal fee would be Tk 5,000 without VAT.
The tariff rate for the calls for the entities taking local toll-free services (LTFS) will be Tk 0.60 per minute, irrespective of the fact that the operator sending the calls is the same operator having LTFS platform or not.
LTFS is accessible from all telephone operators in the country.
-With New Age input
