Use of optical fibre network

GP deprives railways of Tk 81cr a year: CAG

Allegations have been raised against Grameenphone (GP), the country’s leading mobile phone operator, of short paying the Bangladesh Railway Tk. 81 crore every year for using the latter's optical fibre network. The issue has been raised in the audit report of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) prepared in October last year, which was recently sent to the Bangladesh Railway.
Bangladesh Railways leased out its optical fibre network to GP in 1997. Though permission had been taken from the Prime Minister for a network comprising 1,800 kms, the GP is paying rent for only 1,600 kms and thus depriving the government of revenue worth about Tk 81 crore, said the OCAG audit report.
Following the audit observation, the Bangladesh Railway formed a probe committee over the allegation and the body has already submitted its findings, said railway officials.
When contacted over the matter, GP Head of External Communications Sayed Talat Kamal said, “Grameenphone has leased its fiber network from the Bangladesh Railway on participation of an open international tender. Currently Grameenphone leases a total of 2009 km of fiber optic network, covered under the GP-BR agreement and its subsequent amendments, and pays full dues in accordance with the lease agreement signed between the company and Bangladesh Railway. Allegations of any unpaid dues on the fiber optic lease agreement are baseless.”
According to Railways Information Book, a decision was taken in 1989 to modernise the signalling system by installing optical fibre network along the country's railroads. The Norwegian government gave financial assistance to the project. The network was established to connect the existing 300 stations through optical fibre, but the network remained under-used most of the times. So, in 1997, the lease was given to Grameenphone, to monetise the asset, said Bangladesh Railway officials.
In 2014, BTRC gave NTTN licence to three state owned entities—Bangladesh Railways, Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL), and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB).
According to the policies governing NTTN and infrastructure sharing, to establish optical fibre networks, a NTTN license is a must. According to Section 40 of Bangladesh Telecommunication Law 2011, no organisation will be able to provide any telecommunication service without Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's permission.
GP is a joint venture between Telenor (55.8%), the largest telecommunications service provider in Norway having mobile phone operations in 12 other countries, and Grameen Telecom Corporation (34.2%), a non-profit organisation of Bangladesh. The other 10 per cent shares belong to retail and institutional investors.

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Use of optical fibre network

GP deprives railways of Tk 81cr a year: CAG

Allegations have been raised against Grameenphone (GP), the countrys leading mobile phone operator, of short paying the Bangladesh Railway Tk. 81 crore every year for using the latters optical fibre network. The issue has been raised in the audit report of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) prepared in October last year, which was recently sent to the Bangladesh Railway. Bangladesh Railways leased out its optical fibre network to GP in 1997. Though permission had been taken from the Prime Minister for a network comprising 1,800 kms, the GP is paying rent for only 1,600 kms and thus depriving the government of revenue worth about Tk 81 crore, said the OCAG audit report. Following the audit observation, the Bangladesh Railway formed a probe committee over the allegation and the body has already submitted its findings, said railway officials. When contacted over the matter, GP Head of External Communications Sayed Talat Kamal said, Grameenphone has leased its fiber network from the Bangladesh Railway on participation of an open international tender. Currently Grameenphone leases a total of 2009 km of fiber optic network, covered under the GP-BR agreement and its subsequent amendments, and pays full dues in accordance with the lease agreement signed between the company and Bangladesh Railway. Allegations of any unpaid dues on the fiber optic lease agreement are baseless. According to Railways Information Book, a decision was taken in 1989 to modernise the signalling system by installing optical fibre network along the countrys railroads. The Norwegian government gave financial assistance to the project. The network was established to connect the existing 300 stations through optical fibre, but the network remained under-used most of the times. So, in 1997, the lease was given to Grameenphone, to monetise the asset, said Bangladesh Railway officials. In 2014, BTRC gave NTTN licence to three state owned entitiesBangladesh Railways, Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL), and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB). According to the policies governing NTTN and infrastructure sharing, to establish optical fibre networks, a NTTN license is a must. According to Section 40 of Bangladesh Telecommunication Law 2011, no organisation will be able to provide any telecommunication service without Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commissions permission. GP is a joint venture between Telenor (55.8%), the largest telecommunications service provider in Norway having mobile phone operations in 12 other countries, and Grameen Telecom Corporation (34.2%), a non-profit organisation of Bangladesh. The other 10 per cent shares belong to retail and institutional investors. Related News: The biggest offers the worst(17-03-2014) Grameenphone rejoinder and our reply(20-03-2014) Judge sues Grameenphone, BTRC(04-09-2014) Leasing out rly land to GP: Govt loses Tk 20cr(16-09-2014) Evasion of Tk 3,034cr tax: GP faces fresh audit(02-10-2014) GP evades Tk 400cr tax: NBR(03-10-2014) Call drops belie GP quality claims(15-10-2014) GP says sorry to client for changing package(15-10-2014) The largest offers the slowest GP 2G, 3G internet speed poorest among leading mobile operators Report(20-10-2014) US labour body lodges complaint against GP(21-11-2014) GP employees stage demo across country Services disrupted(22-12-2014) GP workers unrest continues(23-12-2014) GP agrees to pay employees(25-12-2014) GP, Banglalink, Airtel flout guidelines(12-01-2015) GP hits Tk 100b revenue landmark(10-02-2015) Displeasure at GP over job cut(21-05-2015) GP associate firm defaults Tk 33cr VAT payment(26-05-2015) Grameenphone reluctant to provide MNP services to subscribers(12-06-2015) GPs illegal business(18-06-2015) DRU accuses GP of cheating(23-06-2015) GP ghost bills(28-06-2015) GP seeks until Tuesday to fix problem(05-07-2015) NBR seeks bank statements of Grammeenphone (04-08-2015) VIPs SIM cards cloned (17-09-2015) Telcos ride on fake ID cards (20-09-2015) BTRC to start auditing GP on October 20 (07-10-2015) Ministers vent spleen on GP service (15-10-2015) GP under renewed fire from telecoms minister (20-10-2015) GP under ACC probe (27-11-2015)