No new mobile operators will be allowed for the time being, telecommunications minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju told parliament on Wednesday. "There are currently six operators serving the country. No new operators will get licences," the minister told a question-answer session. "However, features and facilities of state-run Teletalk will be developed so that it can become the number one mobile operator in the country," he said.

Raju said the total number of subscribers of the six operators stood at 59 million. Of these, Teletalk has just 917,000 subscribers, he said. "Various projects for Teletalk to compete with other operators have been undertaken," he said. These included modernisation and expansion of BTCL exchanges, establishment of cable and optical fibre networks countrywide, establishing international calls and internet connectivity exchanges, said the minister. "Implementation of these projects will enable expansion of Teletalk's subscribers, internet connections and internet users." In reply to another question, Raju said Teletalk had earned revenues of Tk 799.79 crore (Tk 7.99 billion) from April 2005 to September 2009.

State-run roaming

Initiatives to expand the state-run operator's roaming network are being taken, Raju said in answer to another question. "Teletalk is already providing roaming facilities in 38 countries for its clients." "Providing roaming service in Saudi Arabia, for example, has already given allowed Hajj pilgrims to maintain communication with the country," said the minister. "It will provide roaming facilities in another 21 countries, including Malaysia, Italy and Spain, by December." Other possible countries are Cyprus, Mexico, Poland, Ukraine, Vietnam, Iceland, Ireland, Kenya, Argentina, Brazil, Sierra Leon, Uruguay, Afghanistan, Guatemala and Nigeria, he said.

Competition

BTCL (Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited, which runs Teletalk) is falling back amid competition with advanced technologies, internet services and lower call rates of other operators, said Raju. "The number of clients is decreasing day by day," he said in reply to another question. Answering another question, the telecoms minister said the magnetic card phone service, started in 1992, was being shut down as the service had lost its popularity through the spread of digital and cellular telephone services. In reply to a last question, he said Bangladesh Postal Service had earned a revenue of Tk 167.52 crores (Tk 1.67 billion) in 2008-09.

-bdnews