*** President goes out of the way to ask for bringing his hometown under the city's telephone network ***

Going out of the way, the president has desired that the telephone network of Munshiganj be urgently incorporated into Dhaka city's.

President AQM Badruddoza's secretary recently conveyed his wish to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MoPT). And if his wish is entertained through an executive order, it may expose the telecom sector to financial, technical, political and regulatory risks.

The presidential wish goes beyond constitutional jurisdiction.

However, the letter conveying the president's desire blamed the existing analogue exchange in Munshiganj for the BTTB's sub-standard service. On February 2, the elite of Munshiganj demanded better service when Badrudozza visited his hometown prior to leaving for pilgrimage in Makkah.

The letter asked the MoPT to bring Munshiganj under the capital's telephone network. As a case in point, the letter referred to the linking of networks of Narayanganj, Gazipur and Savar with that of Dhaka.

The MoPT secretary has immediately conveyed the president's request to the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) that stirred up widespread controversy. Sources said the BTTB would incur huge financial losses if it wanted to entertain the presidential desire. For one, the Dhaka-Munshiganj call charge, now Tk 3 per minute, would come down to Tk 1.70 for unlimited period if Munshiganj came under the network of Dhaka city.

Moreover, the BTTB will have to redesign its Dhaka network. The countrywide exchanges and gateways of the BTTB will have to be reprogrammed, as

the 02 code of Dhaka will replace 0691 nationwide dialling (NWD) code of Munshiganj. It will also force the private cell and rural telecom operators to reconfigure respective billing software and to redesign the network.

"These modifications require substantial investment and people will have to bear the cost," warned a BTTB high official. Commenting on the president's reference to Narayanganj, Gazipur and Savar being incorporated into Dhaka network, he said Narayanganj and Gazipur had always been within the Dhaka's service zone until the NWD system was introduced in 1983.

Later, these two districts were brought under Dhaka to streamline the network management. "The strategic importance of Savar Cantonment, the business needs of Savar EPZ and the academic importance of Jahangirnagar University justified bringing the Savar exchange under the Dhaka network," said the BTTB official, requesting not to be named.

He apprehended that the BTTB would find itself amidst political backlash if it connected Munshiganj with Dhaka. Commercially prosperous Narshingdi and Manikganj would be equally vocal for such a privilege. "Similar demands would be voiced from other parts of the country and it would create a havoc," he warned.

Munshiganj is currently connected to Dhaka through a 1020-channel digital microwave link. Its existing analogue exchange make way for a digital one by the middle of next month, according to the BTTB. All the 1000 analogue connections will be immediately digitised free of cost and the BTTB would provide 2500 more digital telephones by May. This would partly meet the president's 'directive' to the BTTB.

But bringing Munshiganj under the Dhaka network and creating a new tariff plan is subject to the approval of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC). "According to the telecom law, the BTTB will have to submit its revised tariff plan to the

regulators minimum 60 days prior to its enforcement," said a highly placed TRC source.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Rural Telecom Authority (BRTA), the country's first private rural telecom provider, may challenge any BTTB move to incorporate Munshiganj into the local network of Dhaka.

Major (retd.) M Jahangir, chairman of the BRTA, said, "If the government tags my rural market with that of Dhaka city, I shall also demand the right to operate in the capital." Otherwise, he would go for legal action against the anticompetition practice of the government. In Munshiganj, the BRTA has a capacity to serve 2,500 subscribers.

President Badruddoza was elected a member of parliament on BNP ticket from Munshiganj-1 constituency. He resigned prior to becoming president. Mahi B Chowdhury, the president's only son, got elected in a by-election from the vacated seat. Munshiganj has long been a political stronghold of the president's family.