Panel to probe alleged irregularities by Teletalk, says Tarana

State Minister of Post and Telecommunications Division Tarana Halim yesterday said that they would form a high-powered committee to investigate Teletalk’s alleged involvement in corruption, illegal VoIP and other irregularities.
“We will select academicians, stakeholders, IT experts and researchers within two to three days to form the committee. Nobody who has ‘conflict of interest’ with Teletalk will be incorporated in the committee,” said Tarana during her maiden visit to the state-owned lone cellular phone operator yesterday. She said officials from the Telecom Ministry, regulator and Teletalk would be kept away from the committee. “Investigation will help us find out the real scenario,” she said.
With a 42-lakh subscriber base, the operator is offering 3G and other services but has failed to satisfy customers due to poor network coverage. Directing the operator to become self-reliant, Tarana advised Teletalk to go for rebranding. "Teletalk is required to expand its business towards creating a sustainable base in the market. So, I suggest a quick rebranding as well as minimising existing problems, especially development of customer care and balance recharge which would be possible shortly,” she said.
The state minister directed Teletalk to recruit fresh talent and train them to offer quality services to customers. She also suggested expansion of area-based retailers for making SIM and balance recharge available. Tarana however said that since the government has plans for development of Teletalk, the latter should work in line with government strategy. Teletalk Managing Director Gius Uddin Ahmed informed Tarana that they could not implement different projects on time due to compliance with public procurement system. He hoped that the present scenario of Teletalk would improve soon.

Panel to probe alleged irregularities by Teletalk, says Tarana

State Minister of Post and Telecommunications Division Tarana Halim yesterday said that they would form a high-powered committee to investigate Teletalks alleged involvement in corruption, illegal VoIP and other irregularities. We will select academicians, stakeholders, IT experts and researchers within two to three days to form the committee. Nobody who has conflict of interest with Teletalk will be incorporated in the committee, said Tarana during her maiden visit to the state-owned lone cellular phone operator yesterday. She said officials from the Telecom Ministry, regulator and Teletalk would be kept away from the committee. Investigation will help us find out the real scenario, she said. With a 42-lakh subscriber base, the operator is offering 3G and other services but has failed to satisfy customers due to poor network coverage. Directing the operator to become self-reliant, Tarana advised Teletalk to go for rebranding. Teletalk is required to expand its business towards creating a sustainable base in the market. So, I suggest a quick rebranding as well as minimising existing problems, especially development of customer care and balance recharge which would be possible shortly, she said. The state minister directed Teletalk to recruit fresh talent and train them to offer quality services to customers. She also suggested expansion of area-based retailers for making SIM and balance recharge available. Tarana however said that since the government has plans for development of Teletalk, the latter should work in line with government strategy. Teletalk Managing Director Gius Uddin Ahmed informed Tarana that they could not implement different projects on time due to compliance with public procurement system. He hoped that the present scenario of Teletalk would improve soon.