Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) was not able to collect more than Tk26.11bn outstanding revenue as of June from different telecom service operators.
A report the regulator recently sent to the telecommunication ministry has revealed the figure. Dhaka Tribune has managed to obtain a copy of it.
BTRC chairman Sunil Kanti Bose however described the amount as not big compared to the total collection.
“As we collect Tk80-100bn revenue every year, some can remain as outstanding. The current outstanding figure has accumulated for last several years,” he said.
The report also shows that the government-owned land phone operator Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) owes around Tk16.25bn to the BTRC.
There was another Tk5bn outstanding revenue from some 28 private international gateway (IGW) operators.
The total due of the Interconnection Exchange (ICX) operators has stood at Tk2.11bn while that of International Internet Gateway (IIG) amounts to Tk3m. Most of the IGW and ICX operators have not paid their annual licence renewal fee.
Some BTRC officials said the total outstanding revenue from the operators could increase further in the next quarter after June.
According to the report, the state-run mobile operator Teletalk didn’t pay Tk315.8m while the private oldest operator Citycell owes Tk1.45bn.
Of the Citycell’s amount, the 2G licence renewal fee is Tk1.3bn and others are spectrum charge of three quarters and revenue sharing of two quarters.
The two Wi-Max operators- Banglalion and Qubee- owe respectively Tk294.8m and Tk151.2m to the telecom regulator.
Besides, some 12 private land phone (PSTN) operators have not paid Tk293.4m.
Different private companies, internet service providers (ISPs) and some government departments have not deposited spectrum charges amounting to Tk241.8m, said the BTRC report
On July 24, the Dhaka Tribune applied for information on outstanding revenue under Right to Information Act.
BTRC provided information on August 21 but mentioned Tk18.8bn as total outstanding figure as of June.
The regulator concealed the amounts due from of IGW, ICX and IIG operators.
