HC: Reconnect IGW of Bestec

High Court asked telecommunication regulator to reconnect the international gateway operation of Bestec Telecom Limited. The Court also directed Bestec to pay Tk20 crore to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and regular bills along with arrears of Tk2 crore. BTRC cancelled the license of IGW operator Bestec Telecom Limited as they failed to pay its dues of Tk177 crore in time. The regulatory body suspended all types of operational activities of Bestec on October 28, 2013. Bestec is one of the major defaulters among the IGW operators. It started journey on March 7, 2013 after being awarded the IGW licence. It’s a sister concern of Bestec Group. BTRC on 26 February 2017 issued a memo cancelling the IGW licence of Bestec for Bestec’s failure to pay revenue sharing fees, annual license fees, VAT and late fee amounting to Tk197.35 crore to BTRC. While impugning the memo of cancellation of licence in the first week of March 2017, Bestec filed a writ petition with the High Court. “The High Court stayed the operation of the memo of cancellation of IGW licence of Bestec for a period of three months and directed BTRC to reconnect the IGW operation of Bestec provided Bestec pay Tk20 crore to BTRC and regular bills along with arrears of Tk2 crore.” said Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Sayed Mahsib Hossain.