Policy Peril or Progress? Stakeholders Warn of Foreign Dominance in New Telecom Framework
The country’s telecom sector has remained constrained by the influence of mobile operators since its inception. While the 2008 ILDTS Policy helped break that monopoly to some extent, the newly drafted telecom licensing policy is feared to reintroduce foreign dominance and weaken domestic competitiveness. This concern was highlighted during a concept paper presentation at a discussion titled “How Effectively Will the New Telecom Policy Protect the Interests of Local Entrepreneurs?”
According to the paper, the proposed policy increases ISP license fees by five times, enabling foreign telecom companies to benefit from 90 percent of the policy’s structural advantages. As a result, local entrepreneurs are expected to be adversely affected in nearly 85 percent of cases. Consumer-level internet prices could rise by up to 75 percent.
Additionally, the licensing authority structure has been revised in a way that places key national telecommunications licensing decisions under five different ministers, which participants argued would effectively reduce the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to a “rubber stamp institution.”
The discussion was held on Saturday, December 8, at Hotel Holiday Inn in Dhaka, where former TRNB President Rashed Mehedi presented the concept paper.
In his welcome remarks, TRNB General Secretary Masuduzzaman Robin stressed the need to prioritize the protection and development of labor-intensive domestic entrepreneurship rather than maximizing government revenue, in order to achieve technological self-reliance.
Raising a key issue, ISPAB General Secretary Nazmul Karim Bhuiyan asked: “How many products is the internet?” He stated, “We believe internet means internet. We do not want it fragmented into mobile, satellite, and other categories. Such divisions only escalate unfair competition.”
He, however, appreciated the indication of revisions hinted in a recent Facebook post by the Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser.
ICX representative M. Nurul Alam emphasized that economic growth, employment generation, and the strengthening of domestic enterprises should be at the core of policy design. “In the name of reform, our concerns have not been reflected. The policy is being shaped in a way that moves authority beyond regulatory hands. Small players will not be able to survive against large investors,” he said.
K.M. Tarikuzzaman, CTO of Summit Communications, remarked that the new guidelines appear to offer safeguarding advantages to mobile operators. “This policy will eliminate the remaining barriers to monopolizing transmission. Essentially, we are being taken back to the pre-2008 scenario,” he said.
Also present at the discussion were columnist Masud Kamal, telecom expert Abu Nazm Tanin Hossain, ISPAB President Aminul Hakim, CTO of Bahon Limited Rashed Amin Bidyut, and Fiber@Home DMD Suman Ahmed Sabir.
The speakers collectively underscored that unless the draft policy is reshaped with clear protection for local entrepreneurs, the telecom ecosystem could shift toward heightened foreign control, reduced domestic competition, and increased service costs for ordinary users.
