Govt opens up VoIP by June-July: Raju

[ Last page ] 2010-05-17

Govt opens up VoIP by June-July: Raju

Own satellite in next 2 years The government, in a bid to minimise long-distance call costs, has almost finalised opening up the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) business for all under a legal framework, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju said Sunday, reports UNB. "The guidelines have almost been finalised, and international call termination through VoIP will hopefully be opened up by June-July," he said at a crowded press conference at National Press Club. Currently, only five companies - Bangla Trac Communications Ltd, Novotel Limited, Mir Telecom, M and H Telecom and Getco Telecommunications - are allowed to use VoIP under licence. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications hosted the press conference to inform journalists about the government's plan on World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD-2010), which will be observed today (Monday). The government will rent out E1 (an all-digital communications line that allows transmission of voice, data, video, and graphics at high speed compared to standard communication lines) connections to the interested VoIP operators once the entire process is complete. Replying to a question Raju confidently said Bangladesh would have its own satellite within the next couple of years, which will ensure quality and faster telecom services to the people. "As the project is too expensive and has an involvement of approximately Taka 300-400 billion, we're looking for public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives to use the satellite for commercial purposes," he said.