Mobile phone service quality falling: Inu
Posts and telecommunications minister Sahara Khatun on Sunday said allowing mobile phone operators to use the 3G spectrum to launch their 3G services on easy conditions will enable the government to hold the shares of ‘huge revenue’. ‘The government is not doing auction business by conceding the 3G spectrum to mobile network operators. Allowing them to use the spectrum on easy conditions will enablethe government to hold shares of the huge revenue they’ll be generating from the services,’ she said.
The minister was addressing a national dialogue, ‘Commercial Freedom: Key to Sustainable Development of Telecommunication Industry’, organised by Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad (BUP) at Cirdap, reports United News of Bangladesh.
Presided over by chairman of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, the dialogue was also addressed by ICT Minister Mostafa Faruque Mohammad, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, BTRC chairman Sunil Kanti Bose and BUP executive director Nilufar Banu.
Sahara also cited the example of the recent 2G spectrum allocation scam in India and stressed that the 3G spectrum auction in Bangladesh will be different and it will ensure increased revenue for the government from the sector.
The government considers the telecom industry as a thrust sector and expects to earn more revenues by conceding greater commercial freedom to the mobile operators in the days to come, she said. ‘But, the beneficiaries of the freedom will have to keep in mind the public interest.’
Sahara noted that the Indian government has raised a lot of money by holding an auction in 2010.
India raised more than $ 15 billion from an open auction for 3G licences in 2010.
Sahara’s comments came at a time when the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is set to hold the 3G auction on September 8.
Four mobile operators applied for four licences amid fear of BTRC-operator syndication as the government has already conceded millions of dollars in possible taxes by relaxing conditions for 3G operations, said BTRC officials earlier.
Inu, meanwhile, told the seminar that the quality of services by all the mobile operators in the country was falling.
‘In recent times, the quality of services by all the mobile operators is declining. The connections are frequently being cut off…call drops are happening. It’s a concern for me as a consumer because the consumer has to pay,’ he said.
Inu, also the former chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Posts and Telecommunications Ministry, complained that the quality of voice transmission during the calls has also fallen.
Although the regulatory body has the device to detect the problems in the voice transmission, the steps to use that are not visible, he added.
The Information Minister said the government is keen on protecting the business interest of the mobile operators. ‘But we need to be cautious so that the consumer interest is not violated in the name of business interest,’ he said.
-With New Age input
