Telecom Act to be reformed in a timely, investment-friendly manner

Keeping pace with the advancement of information technology, the government is going to enact a new telecommunication law which will not only be timely and investment friendly but also ensure citizen welfare.

“The new law will be enacted making necessary amendments to the draft prepared by the Post and Telecommunication Division, especially, 7(3) and 26(e) of the draft law must be amended,” said State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak while addressing a roundtable on Wednesday (June 5).

The roundtable, titled 'Reform of the Telecommunication Law, 2001', was jointly organised by Telecom and Technology Reporters Network, Bangladesh (TRNB) and Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) at Bangladesh Computer Council auditorium at Agargaon in the capital.

The state minister said, “The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) needs to be fully independent. At the same time, they also have to work in harmony with the ministry.”

He assured to amend the sections of the draft law which are not business and investment friendly.

He said, "I will take the initiative to remove anything in this draft law that may cause problems for any party and the public of the country. In this case, we can follow the ICT laws of India and Vietnam. A timely law will be enacted which will create a business friendly environment in the country, paving the way to achieve the Smart Bangladesh vision.”

He proposed to drop two sections of the draft law, as suggested by the discussants at the roundtable, which are 7(3) and 26(e).

Mentionable, Section 7(3) of the draft law empowers the ministry to remove the Commissioners of BTRC and Section 26(e) mandates to obtain licenses from BTRC for operating social media and online platforms.

Criticising Section 7(3), the speakers at the roundtable said that through this section, the independent performance of BTRC will be severely disrupted. Section 26(e) will complicate online based businesses and other innovations in the country. At the same time, if the responsibility of BTRC, formed to manage telecommunication networks, is expanded in the field of digital services, there will be a great complication for the organization to perform its normal responsibilities.

Citing the criticisms as positive ones, the state minister announced to drop these two sections while finalising the law.

The state minister immediately formed a seven-member committee to make recommendations reviewing the draft law. The committee was instructed to submit its recommendations within the next seven days. The state minister also assured to seriously consider the recommendations of this committee.

Speaking as the special guest at the roundtable, BTRC chairman Engineer Mohiuddin Ahmed said, "All laws are for people. Therefore, laws should be made for the welfare of people. I don't believe in power, I believe in performing responsibility and I do not want anyone's interference in this regard. We all need to be careful that no one gets into trouble because of the new law.”

Addressing the mobile phone operators, he said, "We want you to provide the highest quality service at a low price."

BTRC Vice Chairman Aminul Haque and mobile phone operator Robi's Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer Mohammed Shahedul Alam presented the two keynotes at the roundtable.

Presided over by TRNB President Rased Mehedi, the roundtable was addressed, among others, by AMTOB President and GrameenPhone CEO Yasir Azman, Banglalink Deputy CEO Taimur Rahman, Teletalk Managing Director (additional duty) Nurul Mabud Chowdhury, Grameenphone Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Hans Martin Henriksen, AMTOB Secretary General Lt Colonel Mohammad Zulfikar (Retd), EDOTCO Group Country Managing Director Sunil Isaac, President of Mobile Phone Industry Owners Association Zakaria Shahid, President of Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh Imdadul Haque, Chief Network Architect of Summit Communications Faruq Imtiaz, Director (Communications) of Fiber at Home Abbas Faruque, and Brac University teacher Saimum Reza Talukder.

TRNB General Secretary Masuduzzaman Robin delivered the welcome speech at the event.

Speakers at the roundtable said at a time when the country has embarked on the road to Smart Bangladesh after the implementation of Digital Bangladesh and foreign investment is being encouraged, a negative attitude has been created among the investors centring some aspects of the draft of the proposed telecommunication law.

Highlighting various aspects of the draft law, the speakers said that despite having a separate law enacted in 2001 for dispute settlement, the draft includes clauses in this regard which will create new problems. The draft also includes provision for fines, with a maximum of Tk 300 crore which is very high.

Observing that administrative penalty is a type of punishment, the stakeholders of the sector said excessive compensation has been proposed in the draft which is not business friendly. The draft law has considered the offenses of service providers in this sector as non-bailable offences. On the other hand, the Commission has been exempted from any liability and no civil court shall have jurisdiction over any of its actions. Speakers termed such provision as against the fundamental rights of the Constitution.

The discussants also said that there should be no clause in the law that discourages domestic and foreign investment. They requested the government to formulate a law of international standards based on discussions with all stakeholders in the sector.