The government used to yawn when the mobile phone operators requested for interconnection with the state-owned BTTB's fixed telephone network. Now the private sector gives a cold shoulder to the government's plea for connecting Teletalk. Such reciprocation is the consequence of BTTB's bad precedence.

Two years back the mobile phone operators were forced to spend more than two million dollar to set-up an interconnection exchange at BTTB's end. They were also compelled to pay for using the very equipment they have purchased. Moreover, the BTTB keeps on charging the mobile phone operators for terminating their calls at the state-owned fixed telephone network.

Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board, however, pays nothing while its calls are terminated at the mobile phone networks. Such unfair deal has predictably failed to solve the private operators' interconnection problem. Most of the mobile phone users are still disconnected from the mainstream telecoms network. Thanks to the government's deplorable tolerance of BTTB's continuous and deliberate regulatory non-compliance.

Lately the government has become passionate about interconnection. It, however, has nothing to do with connecting the millions of deliberately unconnected mobile phone users. All the government wants is to salvage its grossly flawed cellular mobile phone ser-

vice, Teletalk, which runs on scandalously procured $76 million equipment. That's it.

The Association of Telecom Operators in Bangladesh (ATOB) has conditionally accepted the government's proposal. The ATOB has unanimously demanded that the government should first fulfil its historical obligation to link BTTB's network with private operators through equitable revenue sharing. The ATOB represents operators of GrameenPhone, AKTEL, CityCell and Banglalink brands.

This is the first time the private operators have officially challenged the government on regulatory discrepancy. Stipulating their interconnection demand with BTTB's fixed network as a non-negotiable precursor to link Teletalk is an adorable propeople move ATOB has taken.

The private operators' fastgrowing 6.4 million clientele is already 25-times larger than the initial capacity of Teletalk (250,000 customers). Therefore, the government should first ensure the country's majority mobile phone users' fundamental right to communicate.

Then the government should discuss with the private networks on how to connect Teletalk with their networks. That is, however, subject to the settlement of ongoing public interest litigation Teletalk has been facing. Teletalk's memorandum and articles of the association show that the individuals, not the government, own this company.

Responding to a writ petition, the High Court division of the Supreme Court on April 17, issued a rule on the government to explain why the

BTTB's mobile phone license and its subsequent transfer to Teletalk should not be declared illegal. The ruling also mandates Teletalk to withhold the transfer of its assets.

The revenue being generated from inter-network calls, through interconnection points, is shared by the two operators concerned. Teletalk's smaller network will obviously make more calls to the larger private networks.

Therefore, Teletalk will have to pay its counterparts while settling the monthly bilateral traffic. The trouble is unless the court is satisfied, Teletalk remains legally barred from transferring its assets, sharing the revenue with private sector.

Moreover, if the court declares Teletalk an illegal entity, the mobile phone operators will be in water with a huge amount of receivables from Teletalk. The operators have suggested a way out. The government may provide sovereign guarantee to the ATOB members against the amount of airtime Teletalk may offload in the private mobile networks.

It is a prepaid system in larger aspect. The private operators will alert Teletalk before the payable amount nears the financial limit of the sovereign guarantee. As the government injects more value in the guarantee, Teletalk pumps more traffic to its rival networks.

If the judgement goes in favour of Teletalk, it duly clears the dues and continues the business. If Teletalk does not win the case, the operators recover respective dues from the government's sovereign guarantee. The operators should exempt any interest for the belated payment of,

in that case, legally defaulted Teletalk.

The telecoms regulator will ask the private operators to absorb the Teletalk clients according to respective proportion of market share. Since Teletalk uses GSM technology, CityCell will be naturally relieved from this rescue operation. Good news for SingTel.

The government has, however, brushed aside the above stated option. The private operators rather receive calls from the government's high-ups demanding to link Teletalk at once. Tone and contents of such personal calls allegedly lack the official decorum.

The government prefers to overlook Teletalk's doubtful incorporation as well as the legal status of its mobile phone operating licence. The private operators, however, do not have the luxury to ignore such serious discrepancies and they do business with Teletalk.

The government has made the islands of networks by denying interconnection to the ATOB members at the first place. These islands have now become much larger than the state-owned mainland of BTTB's fixed telephony.

The government knows about this paradigm shift and it should initiate bridging the gap. Professional approach rather than feudal attitude will help accomplish this mission. Because the shift has already taken place in our mobile market.