Hanging Cables
Drive on hold for four days
The crackdown against overhead cables on city thoroughfares has been suspended for four days, allowing cable TV operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to remove their cables.
The energy ministry took the decision yesterday just one day after a drive was launched to remove cables from the main roads from Uttara to Shahbagh.
Upon directives from the ministry, the two power authorities– Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (Desco) and Dhaka Power Division Company (DPDC)– halted their drive. They will relaunch the drive on Friday.
DPDC Director (engineering) ASM Seraj Uddullah yesterday told The Daily Star that if ISPs and cable TV operators do not respond positively, they [DPDC and Desco] will cut all cables hanging from roadside poles from Uttara to Shahbagh on Friday.
Shahjahan Mia, Desco general manager (Engineering and System Control), said the power authorities held a meeting with ISPs, cable TV operators, NTTN (Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network) corporations and Dhaka City Corporation yesterday and agreed to stop the drive for four days.
Meanwhile, SM Anwar Parvez, former president of Cable Operators’ Association of Bangladesh (Coab), claimed that around 30,000 to 40,000 city dwellers could not watch satellite TV channels until last evening due to the removal of wires in Sunday’s drive.
“The optical cables set by the NTTN corporations are mainly for data communication, telecommunication and internet services. These cables are not suitable for video communication,” he said.
He added cable operators are ready to move their services underground if the underground optical fibre network has been designed to facilitate video communication.
Anwar said he will sit with the energy secretary to talk about this issue today.
Akhtaruzzaman Manju, president of Internet Service Providers’ Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB), said operation of eight ISPs were disrupted until last evening and several hundred users received poor Internet services because of Sunday’s drive.
The government tried to exert pressure on the ISPs and cable TV operators through the drive so they come forward to remove their cable.
