BTRC fines GP Tk 30cr

POST TIME: 31 October, 2016 00:00 00 AM / LAST MODIFIED: 31 October, 2016 12:21:45 PM

ILLEGAL ‘GO BROADBAND’ SERVICE

Tareque Moretaza

BTRC fines GP Tk 30cr

Telecoms regulator BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) yesterday fined country’s largest mobile phone operator Grameenphone Tk 30 crore for providing ‘Go Broadband’ services illegally. BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood approved the imposition of fine on Grameenphone (GP) following a decision in this regard at a commission meeting on Wednesday. Talking to The Independent, Shahjahan Mahmood said, “The decision to impose the fine was taken as the violation was proved against GP. The commission has decided to fine the operator Tk 30 crore.” A senior BTRC official said the notice of fine would be sent to the GP office within this week. “This irregularity by Grameenphone is one of the most serious in the history of country’s telecom service. They (GP) will be fined and there is no chance for them to avoid it,” he added.
Earlier on July 13, the regulator issued a show cause notice to Grameenphone asking it to explain the illegal services provided by the operator under ‘Go Broadband’. The BTRC also annulled a service agreement between GP’s ‘Go Broadband’ and state owned Sonali Bank.
When contacted over the matter, Grameenphone Head of External Communications Sayed Talat Kamal, in a written statement, said, “We have not received any such official communication from the regulator and so are not in a position to comment. We can, however, confirm that GO Broadband service has been deployed with the necessary permissions from the relevant authorities and with the required partnership structures.
In the show cause notice issued to GP on July 13, the BTRC asked the operator’s CEO to cite reasons behind its breaching of telecom laws and the clauses in the licensing agreement over Go Broadband service, which it launched illegally.
The notice signed by SM Golam Sorwar, Senior Assistant Director, (Legal and Licensing Division) of BTRC, said as per the provisions of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act, 2001 (Act, 2001) and the terms and conditions of the license, GP is obligated to perform the duties and responsibilities and to provide services in the manner stated in the-Act, 2001 and the licenses… But GP has failed to comply with these obligations.
Therefore, the Commission believes that GP has contravened the conditions of the aforementioned licenses and the Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) guidelines and the Infrastructure Sharing Guidelines read with sections 35 and 73 of the Act, 2001.
In the letter, it was mentioned that the above telecom services were provided by GP to Sonali Bank Ltd beyond the purview of GP’s 2G and 3G licenses. As such GP has violated the condition Nos. 4.02 and 4.03 of 2G and 3G licenses respectively.’
BTRC said according to the provisions of NTTN guidelines, no person or business entity shall be allowed to develop, build, operate and maintain NTTN without a valid License issued by the Commission. As such GP has violated the condition No. 3.01 of the NTTN guidelines.
Also according to the condition Nos. 4.7 and 4.8 of the Infrastructure Sharing Guidelines, cellular mobile phone operators will not be permitted to build optical/wired backbone transmission network, if such networks of NTTN operators are already available there. But GP building and using optical/ wired transmission network to provide services to Sonali Bank Ltd by violating all those conditions.’
As per the letter, that GP has failed to comply with the relevant guidelines and directions and/or directives of the Commission on Infrastructure and facility sharing. As such GP has violated the condition Nos. 10.01, 10.02, 23.01 and 23.02 of the 2G and 3G Licenses respectively.
Earlier on June 22, the BTRC cancelled a service contract between GP and state owned Sonali Bank Ltd. Under the contract, GP has been providing Sonali Bank with the Go Broadband services which according to BTRC, is illegal.
In a meeting, the BTRC came up with the observation that GP was giving internet and telecommunication service to Sonali Bank through fixed connection through fiber optics cable violating its license contract with the BTRC, and the rules and regulation of the Telecommunication Act.
Grameenphone, in alliance with ADN Telecom and Agni Systems, offers ‘Go Broadband’ services that provide fibre-optic connections ‘by violating BTRC’s Wi-Max policy guidelines’, the telecoms watchdog said.
After a series of scrutiny over the GP explanations regarding the services, the Engineering and Operations Department of the BTRC came up with the observation.
In a note, the BTRC’s Engineering and Operations Department also recommended that GP should be slapped with a monetary fine for this ‘severe violation’ of the articles 4.7 and 4.8 of the BTRC guidelines on telecom infrastructures.
“The operator cannot share or lease its infrastructure without permission from the regulator. Grameenphone, as a mobile phone operator, cannot provide wire-connectivity. The operator is also providing fibre connectivity, which can only be done by NTTN operators,” a BTRC senior official told The Independent while explaining the nature of the violations by mobile operator Grameenphone.
“It is providing wire technology connectivity to 551 branches of Sonali Bank without obtaining permission from the BTRC. It is also providing modem services what wi-max service providers Qubee and Banglalion do despite obtaining no Wi-Max licence,” he continued.
The BTRC, in its observation, said that by providing services to 551 branches without involving any NTTN operator and by concealing the information to the BTRC, GP has done a severe blunder of violation of rules. It has been doing the ISP business without obtaining any license for doing this business, BTRC observes.
Earlier, after receiving a complaint, the BTRC, in a letter issued on March 30, pointed out six allegations of irregularities and asked Grameenphone, ADN Telecom and Agni Systems to present their explanations by April 13.
Earlier, on February 28, Internet Service Providers Association Bangladesh (ISPAB) submitted the complaint against Grameenphone and its two partners. When contacted over the complaint, Sayed Talat Kamal, head of External Communications of GP, had said, “Agni Systems Ltd and ADN Telecom Ltd, in partnership with Grameenphone, have been offering Go Broadband services with specific approval from the regulator.” Past records of GP
GP was fined on two occasions in 2007 and 2008 for offering illegal VoIP services, compelling the company to pay Tk 418 crore to the telecoms regulator. Following the VoIP scam, GP top management had to go through a major reshuffle to retain its licence to operate in Bangladesh. GP ownership structure 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.