June 09, 2008
The Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) and the Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited are going to work as separate companies from July 1, officials said on Sunday.
Secretary of the posts and telecommunications ministry Iqbal Mahmud told the news agency that the BTTB would work as the Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited, and the submarine cable unit of the BTTB will be separated and renamed as the BSCCL.
The BTTB has been valued as a Tk 15,000 crore company with its total assets. The submarine cable has been valued at Tk 1,000 crore.
Already work is going on for making applications this week with the registrar of joint stock companies for their registration as companies with the valuation of their total assets, Mahmud said.
Their registration fees will cost nearly Tk 45 lakh. The clearance to work under the new names have already been available.
Mahmud said there are no opportunities for delaying their conversion any further than the scheduled period. There is no allocation for the BTTB in the new budget for 2008-09, he added.
The new BTCL company will have to sustain itself with its own incomes. But no officials will lose their jobs. The company must survive competing with its private sector rivals on its own merit and services.
There will be no shortcomings in the new company’s services and customer services vis-a- vis with other fixed and cellular phone companies, the telecom secretary hoped.
After appearing as a company, the BTCL will have new surprises for its telephone subscribers. For that the demands and facilities for the customers are being monitored.
As a primary step, the Teletalk subscribers in Dhanmondi area will be offered to pay their bills through flexiload. Teletalk has already completed all preparations in this regard, Mahmud said.
-BSS, Dhaka