State-owned mobile operator Teletalk has been forced to delay its much-hyped launch of 3G services, due to the reluctance of state-owned land phone operator, Bangladesh Telecommuni-cation Company Limited (BTCL) to provide land for setting up Teletalk's 3G infrastructure.
Sources at Teletalk said the mobile operator has asked for BTCL-owned land in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Ramna, Banani, Moghbazar to install 3G equipment, including base transceiver system (BTS) and signal tower, which BTCL had declined.
As per regulations, Teletalk has to pay rent fixed by the public works department (PWD) to use BTCL land for their own purpose, said a BTCL official. Teletalk, however, didn’t want to pay that rent.
Teletalk has also asked for a soft loan from BTCL, as the mobile operator has a very tight budget for launching 3G services, but BTCL has shown its reluctance in providing the loan.
BTCL had, previously, given a loan of Tk. 25 crore to Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS), for its laptop project, but it is yet to get the money back from TSS, said a BTCL official.
“We've been losing revenue gradually over the past couple of years, so we're not in a position to disburse any sort of loan,” said a top BTCL official.
On May 3, 2011, the executive committee for National Economic Council (ECNEC) gave its nod for the Tk. 1,901 crore 3G project, out of which, Teletalk would have to provide Tk. 424 crore. The rest was supposed to come from the EXIM bank of China at 2 per cent interest.
But, as dollar prices have increased by Tk. 10-12 during this time, the amount of Tk. 424 crore, which Teletalk was supposed to provide, has also increased by at least 15 per cent. Teletalk has failed to get this extra money from any bank, due to ongoing liquidity crisis.
On the other hand, Teletalk has not complete its part of the agreement, including the fund collection, site selection for the BTS and signal tower, the Chinese companies Huawei has stopped shipment of 3G equipments.
The agreement, signed between Teletalk and EXIM bank of China, stated that the Chinese company would send the necessary equipment, after Teletalk complete its part (mentioned earlier).
Mujibur Rahman, managing director, Teletalk was not available for comments. Another top official, who preferred not to be named, however, told The Independent that if these issues are not resolved, it would be very tough to launch 3G service by June.
The 3G services by the state-owned telecom operator was supposed to be started from this March 26.
The 3G services by the state-owned telecom operator was supposed to be started from this March 26. Launching of its service needed an additional 2,500 new towers apart from the existing 1,800 towers of the Teletalk.
The 3G is the high profile mobile phone technology which can transfer data for both audio and video purposes faster with greater quality and it will be a highway for Internet. Any kind of large data can be transferred within a few seconds. The 3G will be accessible through mobile phone set, laptop and other devices.