The contribution of the private sector in providing state of the art. high technology data communication services for the general market should be recognised, and welcomed as having played an enabling role in the development of Bangladesh. The private sector should be allowed to continue their research and development, with applicable legal and experimental licences/regulations (if needed) such that more advanced technology may be introduced in the country.
This also Implies that in the future, BT&TB should take active steps in attempting to use locally available or marketed technology without first searching for commer clal, international solutions.
In this regard, it is necessary to point out that our nelg bourlng countries have successfully demonstrated proper development in this area by having joint-ventures in telecommunications projects ineluding some very significant indigenously developed rural switching exchanges.
The overall development of data communication networks cannot succeed unless all involved establish a framework of co-operation together, viz . the excellent co-operation between private
and national service providers already existent in the United Kingdom. Singapore, and to a large degree within the United States between all commercial / federal communication service providers. Therefore the Bangladesh T&T Board in its new role as an operator in Bangladesh should strongly consider establishing formal liaisons with the existing service providers very soon.
The standards and prac tices used by the private sector in their business/ commercial projects should not be forced to be linked anyhow by the Bangladesh TAT Board, except for those specific situations where the private sector needs to Interface with the BT&TB eommunlcations network infrastructure. This exclusion should also extend to any agreement of tariff for customers, agreement of tar Iffs between service providers and end-to-end or third party traffic rights
Eventually. Bangladesh needs to be connected on large scale with many data communication networks outside the country, such as Internet. ATAT EaayLlnk. CompuServe etc. some of these data networks will be available only through sub acrlptlon and commerrul Joint-ventures, and moat of
their operating companies amongst them would not be willing to sell or market their services through a government owned venture such as the new BT&TB operating company
This is proven by Singapore Telecom’s own private venture into network services Slngnet as they could not (or perhaps did not) be attached to commercial services world-wide which later established formal liaisons with c,her private sector firms in that region. Since it Is too much to expect that the BT&TB will successfully, commercially be able to pro vide common network connections to all of the desired networks Internationally there should exist the capability for private sector companies to be permitted to seek out ways to connect their own companies to those networks perhaps by inter national data connections In a Just and economic manner in order to be able to act as their gateway to services
The role of BT&TB should In this case be the communi cations technology enabler, and consequently should not be the regulator or monopolistic service provider
(The author Is Managing Director of PraDeshta Um lied)