BTRC order on VSP annual fee creates confusion

A Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission order that asked VoIP service providers to pay the annual licence fee by March 25 has created confusion over the submission deadline, said officials concerned.
VSPs said they had received the order on March 29 but it did not specify the year of claim of the annual fees whereas a proposal for waiving the first year’s annual fees for the service providers was pending before the telecom ministry.
Asked about the issue Bangladesh Association of VoIP Service Provider secretary Khondoker Romel told New Age on Tuesday that the situation was confusing for the operators.
‘We could not pay the annual fee as the order was unclear and confusing. When we received it, the last date of payment was already gone,’ he said.
Romel said the VSPs were facing huge difficulties as most of the operators were yet to get connectivity from the IGWs.
‘The order also did not mention about the year of claim. We don’t know we will pay for which year’s annual fees as our previous year’s fees could be waived,’ he said.
The government in January 2013 issued 844 VSP licences in a bid to discourage illegal voice over internet protocol business.
In May 2013, the BTRC in a directive asked the International Gateway services to serve 35 VSP operators under revenue sharing model.
BTRC officials said a large number of licences were given under political consideration and many licensees did not have enough technical support to run the business.
‘The VSPs are losing business case because of issues such huge number of licences. A large number of VSPs are yet to tag with the IGWs because of various complexities,’ a BTRC official told New Age.
No official BTRC comment regarding the submission deadline confusion could be collected, despite several attempts by New Age. (Source: New Age, April 1, 2015)