NON-COMPLIANCE OF MERGER CONDITIONS
BTRC asks Robi, Airtel to stop on-net calls
FAISAL MAHMUD
Robi Axiata Limited and Airtel are continuing illegal on-net call service, drawing flakfrom telecoms regulator Bangladesh Telecommu-nication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
The regulator has, meanwhile, asked the operators to stop their on-net calls until they obtain the final Order of Merger of Licence.
The BTRC also issued a letter seeking explanation from Robi and Airtel the grounds behind the operation of such illegal service without obtaining the final merger licence, and said that the calls should go through the interconnection exchange ICXs between the operators.
Calls made between the subscribers of the same operator are called on-net calls and between different operators are called off-net calls. In Bangladesh, the lowest on-net call rate is 25 paisa per minute and 60 paisa per minute for an off-net call.
In that letter, the BTRC mentioned that it has stipulated a total of 21 conditions for the merger of Robi
and Airtel. The telecom regulator specifically informed Robi that the Order of Merger Licence would be issued upon completion of compliance with all these 21 conditions.
The BTRC letter, signed by Rokhsana Mehjabin, senior assistant director of the commission, observed that as some of those 21 conditions are yet to be met, the BTRC cannot issue Order of Merger Licence for the merged company Robi Axiata Limited.
Under the circumstances, even though the merger between the two companies Robi and Airtel has been completed, the conditions stipulated by the BRTC have not been fully met and, so, the commission cannot issue an Order of Merger Licence to the merged company.
Also, because of that reason, the newly-merged operator cannot avail the facility of having an on-net call rate between Robi and Airtel number holders, as of now.
When asked about the BTRC letter, senior officials from Robi expressed surprise and dissatisfaction, saying the High Court had cleared the merger and the merger came into effect on November 16. Following the amalgamation of Robi and Airtel, the company arising out of the merger is known as Robi Axiata Limited.
On October 18, BTRC gave the go-ahead to the long-awaited merger of Robi Axiata Ltd and Airtel Bangladesh Ltd after the High Court approved the merger of the countrys two mobile phone operators on August 31 last year.
In a statement issued to The Independent, Ekram Kabir, spokesperson of the merged company, said, The BTRC letter sought clarifications on some points, which have already been provided to them.
BTRC chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood said their merger is yet to be completed, as per the commissions assessment.
Refusing to disclose the unfulfilled conditions, he said, We have no problem in issuing an Order of Merger Licence to them if they comply with all the conditions.
As the countrys largest merger, Axiata now holds a controlling stake of 68.7 per cent in the combined entity while Bharti, the parent company of Airtel, holds 25 per cent.
The remaining 6.3 per cent will be held by the existing shareholder, NTT DOCOMO of Japan.
