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5 ISPs to start using V-Sats next month at much cheaper rate

By Inam Ahmed and Sharier Khan
Intemet users in Bangladesh would be finally enjoying the benefit of an end to the V-Sat monopoly of Bangladesh Tele-Rr^ph and Telephone Board (BTTB) as five leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would start using V-Sat at a much cheaper rate within a month
At user level, this would mean a sharp cut tn Internet service rates Some 35000 Internet users in Bangladesh pay more tariff per minute than that In any other country.
“We expect that per minute tariff would be cut by at least 50 POisa," said an official of an ISP that has more than 2500 users. The rales charged by ISPs are between Tk one and Tk two now. Only Grameen Cybernet offers service at 25 poisa per
minute on Friday nights.
The government withdrew BTTB's monopoly right on V-Sat in February last. According to officials of some ISPs based in Dhaka, at least five ISPs have unilaterally cancelled their five-year contracts with the T&T department to avail the benefit of the withdrawal. They would start using V-Sats next month at one fourth of the rent charged by BTTB.
But, due to contractual obligations which compel the ISPs to use V-Sats through BTTB for a monthly charge of 10.000 US dollars, those could not immediately reap the benefit of the government decision.
'Only the new ISPs having no such contractual obligation would reap the benefit of the
withdrawal ." said an official of a leading ISP requesting anonymity. "In fact Ine decision left the existing ISPs confused about their next course of action.
"When we contacted BTTB for some specific guidelines, its officials said the decision will be official only when it will be gazetted. However they asked us to contact the P & T Ministry.
"The ministry suggested us to cancel the contract and negotiate on our own the V-Sat rental with Singapore-based service providers?' the official added.
V-Sat (Very Small Apparatus) Is used by the ISPs to transmit data to and from Sin-6 a pore. from where angladeshl Internet users can nave access to information in any computer in the world connected with the worldwide web.
The ISP officials further said that cancellation of the five- year contracts, which were mostly signed after 1996-1997, was done as per a provision. "The contract says that it could be cancelled any time as per laws of the country." said an ISP official. "We cancelled our contract three months ago."
4 BuTBTTB conli/uesJo send monthly bfll^ t6 the'ISPs without acknowledging the cancellation. "We will have to settle this issue soon. Like other ISPs, we have given three months' se-curity deposit to BTTB. I believe BTTB would encash this deposit for cancelling the contract for a settlement."