The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is yet to finalise the telecom competition regulation two years after formulation of draft because of the influence from the mobile phone companies, said BTRC officials. They said the commission in 2011 formulated the draft of telecom regulation and sought public opinion on the draft on April 24, 2012, but the matter was still pending.
The draft guideline on telecom market regulation was prepared to bar the country’s mobile phone companies from engaging in unhealthy competition that affects the users and the government revenue, they said.
They said the draft was yet to be finalised because of the pressure from the mobile companies as the regulation would impose restrictions on various issues.
According to the draft, the commission will protect syndication among the operators or the decision by operators’ association which reduces the competitive environment.
Such regulation is very necessary for the mobile phone industry as the companies often place syndicated demand to the government on various issues, said the BTRC officials.
They said in the recent 3G spectrum auction the mobile operators’ syndicate, almost in every issue, pressed the government to fulfil their demand.
‘For example, the operators managed to stop any new entrant to participate in the 3G auction which lessens the competition and finally the auction fails to ensure a minimum competition. In the draft competition regulation there are remedies for such situation which the BTRC cannot practice now as the draft is not finalised,’ a senior BTRC official told New Age.
He said the operator and their association also pressed the BTRC on different tariff and promotional offer related issues which could not be defended due to lack of proper policy.
‘The competition regulation draft made analysis of price difference and causes mandatory to ensure fair pricing by the operators for different services. Now, the operators place their tariff and the commission has no solid tool to measure that pricing,’ he said.
The draft regulation also made mandatory for the BTRC to identify the significant market power of the telecom industry
base on the market and revenue shares of the companies.
It also details out the special monitoring process for the significant market power or a large company which can affect the industry by its own.
The draft regulation also elaborated the investigation system of the BTRC for violation of any rules of the competition factors mentioned in the law.
‘We have sent the draft to the telecom ministry for approval but the ministry is yet to return it to us,’ BTRC’s legal and licensing commissioner Md Abdus Samad told New Age when asked about the issue.
He said the ministry asked for several clarifications which the BTRC provided time to time.
‘The ministry asked if the regulation will be contradictory with the Competition Act where our reply was negative. We also said if any contradiction is found, then the act will prevail,’ he said.
When asked about the issue, telecom secretary Abubaker Siddiqi told New Age that he was not aware of any such draft.
‘After I joined none ever tell me about such pending draft on telecom competition. The ministry will look into the matter,’ he said.
A senior BTRC official, however, said it was very unusual that the commission sought public opinion on the draft without ministry approval.
The BTRC sent the draft to telecom ministry in August 21, 2011 when the current BTRC chairman, Sunil Kanti Bose, was the telecom secretary.
-With New Age input