Roundtable slates govt for internet failure

Dhaka, Jan 8 (bdprem.com)—Internet service providers, IT experts and businessmen say the government is responsible for frequent cuts in the country's optical fibre cable links and for the consequent constraints in moving business forward. At a roundtable discussion Tuesday on How to ensure uninterrupted internet in Bangladesh, organised by bdnews24.com, they also blasted the government for failing to protect the optical fibre from damage and not using readily available alternatives. They all cited the PGCB (Power Grid Company of Bangladesh) and Bangla Phone proposals offering the BTTB to use their facility. PGCB, another government-owned outfit, would charge a tiny portion of what BTTB made from data transmission, they said, while Bangla Phone offered its cable for free. "The government must think of setting up a second line to avoid the catastrophic situation if the only line is cut off or disconnected," said Abdullah H Kafi, vice-president of the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation. Rafiqul Islam Rowly, president of BASIS (Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services), asked why the optical fibre cable has not yet been declared a "key point installation". "We're really living on a single oxygen line," Rowly said. Bangladesh introduced the fibre optic service on May 21, 2006. The service has been disrupted a total of 23 times because of cuts in the cable between Chittagong and Dhaka. State-run BTTB have said "sabotage" was the cause of cable cuts on at least eight occasions. The speakers slammed the government for not yet bringing the culprits responsible for cutting the cable to book. BTTB had also failed to supervise and maintain the cable, they said. Although the fibre optic line was supposed to be installed six feet below the surface, in some areas it lies only four inches beneath the surface making it "very vulnerable". "The government must ensure security of the submarine cable," BGMEA president Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez told the roundtable. Uninterrupted internet is a demand of the whole nation, Chowdhury said, adding that such a service provides businesses with everything from design and bidding to work orders. "Government policies have failed to help entrepreneurs tap into the opportunities of the emerging technology," said Syed Mahmudul Huq, member of Better Business Forum. "Everything is done here for BTTB's interests." The speakers also criticised state-run Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board for monopolising the business and charging subscribers in excess. Fazal M Kamal, bdnews24.com's executive director of news and public affairs, chaired the roundtable, also addressed by economics professor MA Taslim, another member of Better Business Forum, and Abu Saeed Khan, former technology editor of bdnews24.com and a telecoms analyst. Mustafa Zabbar, president of Bangladesh Computer Samity, said he could not help but blame the government for not yet punishing those who were responsible for cutting off the optical fibre cable. "I heard the culprits have been identified, but were not punished," he said. He also criticised the state-run BTTB for charging in excess for submarine cable connections. Abdullah H Kafi said Bangladesh should have a 100 percent ownership of the second submarine cable. BASIS president Rowly asked the government to introduce a second line for uninterrupted internet service. He said Bangla Phone and Power Grid Company of Bangladesh currently have the capacity to provide the government a second optical fibre line. Abu Saeed Khan said the cable landing station should be privatised to break the monopoly of the BTTB. "Facilities-based licences should be provided to the private sector," Khan said. "Time is running out. Let's bring all users together to raise the issue," the BGMEA president told the roundtable. Abdus Salam, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh, said no investment is coming to the IT sector although the government declared it a "thrust sector" a decade ago. Prof Taslim asked the IT businessmen to identify the most urgent issues so the government could understand which measures were a priority for the IT sector and the country as a whole. "Prepare a business case from the government perspective ... how many jobs it will create, how much money it will generate for the state coffers," Taslim said. Toufique Imrose Khalidi, editor-in-chief of bdnews24.com, moderated the discussion.