Private telecom operator Banglalink and state-owned telecommunication service provider BTCL have signed a service exchange agreement on tower sharing. The agreement was signed in the meeting room of BTCL head office at Eskaton Gardens, Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon. Under this agreement, Banglalink will use BTCL’s network infrastructure.
Post and Telecommunication Minister Mostafa Jabbar was present as the chief guest on the occasion. Chairman of BTRC Shyam Sundar Sikder was present as a special guest in the event while the Post and Telecommunication Department Secretary Md. Khalilur Rahman presided over the program. BTCL managing director Dr. Md. Rafiqul Matin and Banglalink CEO Erik Aas signed the agreement on behalf of their respective companies.
In the speech of the chief guest of the event, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications said that, this agreement signing ceremony is really a milestone. The journey of T&T began with the hands of Bangabandhu and the ITU membership was obtained in 1973 and the inauguration of Satellite Geo-station was established at Betbunya on June 14, 1975, and thus, started the journey of international telecommunication. BTTB was once the backbone of telecommunication in this country. I hope, this initiative will help in the expansion of Banglalink’s 4G network and will contribute to increasing the service quality of the company. Besides, it will also ensure efficient utilization of national resources along with energy saving.
Mostafa Jabbar, the pioneer of digital technology development, illustrated the national progress in the continuation of the implementation of the Digital Bangladesh program adopted by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He said, earlier, these two companies have shared optical fiber infrastructure. Just as BTCL has set an example by sharing its resources; Banglalink has set another example by using those resources. Both parties are benefiting from it.
Appreciating the head of the organization for recovering BTCL, the minister further said, BTCL was losing BDT 400 crores annually even 4/5 years ago due to declining number of people talking on landlines – and is now looking at profits. People are now telling me, they need a telephone connection in their area – plus a GPON- Gigabit Ethernet passive optical network (PON) Internet. Adapting to technology and change has enabled BTCL to thrive today.
BTRC Chairman Shyamsunder Sikder shared his experience during his time as Secretary of Posts and Telecommunications Department and congratulated BTCL for this turnaround. “We always welcome infrastructure sharing,” he said. He expects others to follow the example of Bangla Link and BTCL.
About this agreement, the managing director of BTCL Dr. Md. Rafiqul Matin said, “We have been sharing our fiber with Banglalink since last year. It has yielded positive results for both organizations. Now the country is passing through a time when infrastructure sharing can be an effective solution to address national and global challenges.”
In his response, Banglalink CEO Erik Aas said that, “We always welcome opportunities for network sharing. Through this, it is possible to provide better service to customers, as well as ensure appropriate use of resources and infrastructure. In the last one year we have added more than 3300 base stations to the network.”
