WB against telecom law amendment

The World Bank Dhaka office has requested the government not to proceed with the amendment proposals in the telecom law for transferring certain authority of Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to the ministry concerned.

‘The proposed transfer of certain regulatory power such as licensing and tariff-setting from the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to the ministry of post and telecommunications is a cause for concern,’ the WB country director in Dhaka, Ellen Goldstein, said in a letter to the finance minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, recently.
The Breton Woods institution’s request came when a parliamentary standing committee on post and telecommunications ministry was vetting the proposed amendments to the law after it was tabled in the parliament by post and telecommunications minister Raziuddin Ahmed on June 13.
The government has proposed transfer of the authority of licensing and fixing of charges to the ministry from the BTRC.
The committee in a number of meetings listened to the telecom operators and investors who expressed their reservations about the proposed high financial penalty and other punitive measures for mishandling and abuse of telecom networks.
The Association of PSTN (Public Switched Telecom Network), Internet Service Providers Association Bangladesh and the BTRC in separate letters to the parliamentary committee also expressed concern that the government’s proposals, if incorporated in the law, would hamper further investment in the growing telecom sector, which drew approximately Tk 32,000 crore in the last decade.
The WB, which has been providing technical support to Bangladesh’s telecom sector, BTRC and MoPT since 1990s, expressed similar views.
‘On behalf of the World Bank, I would like to take this opportunity to voice concerns over some of the proposed amendments, which could be expected to discourage investment and growth in the sector by undermining international standards of best practice and creating a high degree of legal and regulatory uncertainty,’ said the WB Dhaka chief in the letter.
The letter said that separation of policy and regulatory functions between a government ministry and regulatory agency, as provided for in the 2001 Act, is consistent with international best practice.
It said the proposed amendments would lead to a concentration of policy, regulatory functions and aspects of operations under a single entity, which could increase uncertainty and heighten the scope for abuse.
‘Of additional concern are amendments related to the modification of licences and adjudication of telecom offences which do not appear to ensure adequate legal and regulatory process for investors, operators and other stakeholders,’ said the letter.
It said that such amendments would likely have a negative effect on new investments in the sector, as well as raise the cost of doing business for existing operations.
‘I would like to encourage the government to introduce amendments to the Telecommunications Act that retain standards of international best practices, especially by maintaining the separation between policy and regulatory functions by ensuring adequate legal and regulatory process on licensing and other decisions within the sector,’ the WB official said.
Officials at the post and telecommunications ministry said that an inter-ministry committee had earlier suggested amendments to the Bangladesh Telecommunications Act 2001 keeping the BTRC’s authority intact. But a cabinet meeting presided over by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, approved unanimously transfer of the authority to the ministry and later it was placed as a bill styled Bangladesh Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2010 in the parliament.
The amendment proposals included provision for maximum five years of imprisonment and financial penalty of Tk 300 crore for wrongdoers.
The proposed law will also allow the authorities to arrest telecom operators or their officials for misuse of the apparatus and network. They will be tried by mobile courts, according to the bill.
Under the existing telecommunications act, the regulatory body is the sole authority to issue licence for telecom operators, formulation of a guidelines, fixing of charges and fees and tariff structure in line with the International Long Distance Telecommunications Services Policy 2007.
The parliamentary standing committee, which at past meetings gave different views with the proposed provisions in the bill, is scheduled to finalise its report to be placed in the house sometime next week.
‘I will try to strike a balance among the regulatory commission, government and the stakeholders before finalising the report,’ the chairman of the committee, Hasanul Haq Inu, told New Age Sunday.
He said that the committee would try to protect the interests of the investors, subscribers and the country which was pursuing a vision for Digital Bangladesh.
A member of the committee said that it would suggest certain flexibility in penalties that had been proposed, insertion of new clauses proposing an appeal board and independence of the regulatory commission with certain government control.