BTRC Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said that a lot of work has been done in the telecom sector, but there is still a lot to be done. It is possible to solve the problem in the sector through continuous dialogue or discussion and mutual respect among all concerned in this sector.
Speaking as the chief guest at the 4th and concluding online discussion (webinar), jointly organized by AMTOB and Daffodil International University (DIU) on Sunday evening. BTRC Chairman further added that data price has been dropped drastically in the last decade. However, he commented that, coordination is necessary among the stakeholders including BTRC, mobile network operators, transmission network operators, tower companies, etc. to improve the situation.
Dr Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of Trustees, DIU, who was the guest of honor at the discussion titled “Mobile Communication in Bangladesh: Challenges of the Future”, said that the importance of mobile and internet is understood during the Coronavirus situation. We are in such a situation when we cannot do almost anything without mobile and the internet.
He added that coordination or linkage is necessary between industries and educational institutions. We have a lot of talented graduates, but due to lack of coordination between these two sectors, we cannot utilize them properly. They have the potential to revolutionize the technology sector.
Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, AMTOB President and MD & CEO of mobile operator Robi Axiata, said, the consumer tax in the mobile sector in Bangladesh is higher than all other sectors. If a customer spends Tk 100 on a mobile service, Tk 53 goes to various types of taxes and Tk 20 is spent to avail various services from other licensees in the sector.
On the one hand, he further said, corporate tax is as high as 45% and even if the mobile operator has no business profit, still it has to pay 2% turnover tax. The tax structure needs to be reformed and unified licensing needs to be enacted so that mobile operators can provide more services of different type.
Md. Kamruzzaman, Additional Secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, said, it is possible to solve the problems of the telecom sector by coordination among the relevant government departments, the telecom and tax regulatory bodies.
He suggested that before the national budget proposal, all the telecom sector stakeholders, including BTRC can discuss and make recommendations to place to NBR.
Ericsson Bangladesh Country Manager Abdus Salam said that every year new tax is imposed on the telecommunications sector. It surprises the stakeholders. He added, too many licenses have created a complex ecosystem that is affecting the quality of service. The recent radiofrequency auction has been highly transparent, which has been praised by colleagues in neighboring countries. But much more spectrum is required for good quality of services.
Professor AKM Fazlul Haque, Associate Dean, Faculty of Engineering, DIU, said that due to the availability of mobile internet there was no hindrance in providing education during the COVID-19 situation. The university is now managing the education system using various tools of artificial intelligence.
AMTOB Secretary General Brig. Gen S M Farhad (Retd.) moderated the panel discussion. He said that the series of webinars, which started last January, was attended by industry, government, regulators BTRC and NBR and university professors to discuss various issues in the sector.
The webinar was hosted by Taslim Arefin, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering, DIU.
