The regulation of telecoms licenses by the BTRC has been completely distorted by cronyism and political interference.
According to BTRC, the optimum market for international gateway licenses should be around twenty operators. Contrary to its advice, regulations were amended in 2010 to allow a much larger volume of licenses to be awarded.
Some 82 licenses were awarded in 2012, taking the total number of all types of call termination operators to 91. Many of these were reportedly given on political considerations, with ministers and ruling party lawmakers among those lobbying for more licenses.
This has resulted in the marketplace being swamped with operators. As many of these have had to pay large amounts in bribes to middlemen, they are underfunded and finding it hard to make a profit.
Established operators and investors have also been hurt as they have seen large capital investments undercut by the sudden influx of competitors.
Consumers and taxpayers have been left with the worst of all worlds. The excessive number of competitors has both undermined the ability of the regulator to manage service standards, while at the same time overall profitability has declined so total revenues shared with the government have barely increased.
Matters may become even worse as some operators are seeking to use their connections to monopolise lucrative activities, at the expense of consumers.
The government must take a stand against cronyism and corruption among officials to allow BTRC to fulfill its duty to regulate in the public interest.
