The regulator has scrapped the licences of six operators for non-payment of annual fees and other dues and for not sharing revenue. As a result, an unbalanced competition was created in the sector as many licences are issued simultaneously without verifying the demand, a number of industry insiders said.Īnother licence was issued in 2016 and the last one in 2018. In April 2012, another 25 new companies got the licence. Four private companies got the licence, including the state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL). In Bangladesh, the IGW business started in 2008 through an open auction. Industry insiders say people's ability to use technology and apps has increased, so they are using many smartphone-based apps to communicate, cutting reliance on voice calls.Īt the same time, the increase in the use of illegal VoIP has had an impact on international calls. Nasir called for policy changes so that the demand for international call routing through IGWs remains the same for some time.
Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) is a technology that allows users to make voice calls using a broadband internet connection instead of a regular phone line. Necessary steps will be taken to raise the issue with the government and stakeholders," he said, adding that the commission was more active against illegal VoIP traders. "We are monitoring the overall situation. "Because of technological advancement, international calls are declining," said BTRC Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder. In 2016, the government received Tk 3,253 crore in revenue from international calls. Officials of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) expect the business of IGWs to shrink further in the next few years.Īs a result, the government's revenue from the segment will take a hit. This will spell further trouble for IGW operators. Smartphone users also saw an uptick, especially during the pandemic, and the penetration of smart-phones is expected to grow further. The use of internet bandwidth rose to 2,400 gbps (gigabits per second) in 2020, up from 1,950 gbps in 2019 and doubling from what it was in 2016. There are 11.27 crore internet users in the country as of February this year, up from about 10 crore users a year ago and 9.21 crore in the same month in 2019, data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) showed. In Bangladesh, the number of internet users rose tremendously because of the pandemic as people have had to use digital platforms to work, shop, communicate and for entertainment. The coronavirus pandemic had dealt another blow to the struggling IGWs as the adoption of social media tools accelerated in the last year. Over-the-top communications (OTT) refers to a class of real-time communication solutions that operate over the internet.
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