International gateway licences auctioned

Now that the IGW license auction is over and BTRC met and surplus our expectation handing over the licenses with in a very short time after the auction, it is time for BTRC to start the next project of bringing the benefit of Internet doorstep of concern citizens.

I am pleased to see the public auctioning of International gateway licenses by BTRC. This is the first step toward opening up government strong hold on a key strategic area of technology where a tremendous opportunity blinks. I would like to see 100% utilization of the SEA-ME-WE in every way we can. This small leap is the giant step for the nation of Bangladesh. I will tell you why in a minute. First, please take a moment and reflect few questions:

Why we are doing this?
What problem it solves? In solving this current problem, are we introducing a bigger problem?
What could bring the maximum throughput to the overall national economy?
What can bring the maximum number of countrymen get benefited both in consumption as well as a means to more income?
What can we learn from the cell phone industry boom and how can we repeat that in this broadband sector?
What impact it could bring to the productivity of our everyday chores? Are we going to be more productive?

I can not answer all these questions and I would like to get them answered from BTRC, BTTB, Novotel, Mir and Bangla Tarc. However I have some gut feeling on these questions.
We are doing these to fill the plug that has been created by our procrastination of adapting the thriving technology of VOIP. But the root of the problem was “lake of enforcement of rule of law and regulation”. So please do not shove the dirt under the carpet. Going forward, please keep that in mind.

Can we bring the maximum number of countrymen to get any more benefit out of this? The answer is “No, we created some new jobs and cash flow which may benefit some countrymen”.
However, BTRC may go next step and make broadband to peoples doorstep and thereby our heavily paid submarine cable get more utilization. Currently according to elite international estimation, we only use 10% of the bandwidth. Job one should be to drop a high bandwidth broad band node to every University of the country and then trickle down to the education sectors, vis a vis degree colleges, two year colleges, high schools etc. Then enforce and adapt broadband to all medical facilities as well as law enforcement agencies. Create a environment and policies to encourage small businesses like internet cafes. Make a standard to connect all the internet café so that people from one district can get instant communication to other with “price quote” for service and business, contract for transfer goods and service. This will create an infusion of small entrepreneurs. This could be defined as “kutir shilpo” of new age. Our software developer will develop easy, applicable bangle software which could be access online with a usage fee of say 1 taka payable by “cell phone technology of sharing money”. This way developer will get their development cost and business and will eliminate piracy. This software could be a “contract form” in Bangla. May be a “transaction letter”. This could be an application of admission to any school, institution, a loan application, a small “tender” offer to local market or buy/sell in privacy of online.

Now that BTRC will get half of the shared revenue without doing anything, it is time for them to take some infrastructure projects and set the vision. Few months back in a “Silicon India” article “Free broadband within 2 yrs” reports that. “The Indian government plans to offer all citizens of India free, high-speed connectivity by 2009, through the state owned telecom service providers BSNL and MTNL”. All telecom operators in India have to contribute 5% of their revenue to a special fund call “Universal Service Obligation Fund” (USOF). USOF will pay for the free broadband connectivity at a speed of 2MB per second across the country. I wrote a letter to “New Age” on this topic http://www.newagebd.com/2007/may/24/fb.html. I know it is not “cool” in Bangladesh to follow India; however we like it or not India is the leader of IT service in the world today. Like we are better then India in RMG sector.

Bangladesh is the most expensive country in the context of internet access. In some statistics, we are ten times costly then our neighboring country. In some cases, economic activity follows law of science. Like Bernoulli’s law, all business dependent on broadband and electricity will flow to India than Bangladesh, because we are expensive.

We have to understand that technology is like a fluid and it is up to the user, what he wants out of it. If you look at the cell phone usage and application in the developed world like USA and compare that with our cell phone usage and application in Bangladesh. Than you will see how versatile the technology can be. The concept of “miss call” is absent in USA. Text massaging is not at all used here in USA. Where as, in Bangladesh, we do lot of business using cell phone. We transfer cash, pay small transactions. I heard a story of a barber. The landlord raised the rent and put more restriction on his business of barbershop. He made a list of his customer, loaded their contact numbers and closed the shop. He called all his client told them that he closed the shop and if they liked his service, then he will continue to do so. Now a day his client calls him and he goes to their home or business and do the service. Cell phone made him independent, made his job flexible, improved his productivity and reduced his operating expenses. We all know about the “phone lady” of Grameen phone. Street vendor now a day call their regular and prime customer and inquire as well as deliver their supplies in their convenient times. On the other hand, we hear complain that cell phone made life miserable for the young adults. They spent a significant amount of their time and money gossiping. Organized crime got smarter. Taxicab mugging, chasing and other petty theft got also an edge with the cell phone technology. Technology is like a piece of clay, you can make a art from it, or a useful appliance; but you can also make a wasteful product, which cost your time, money and effort. We have to place safe guard around it.
Parents can take necessary steps to take a control of their young adults, law enforcement agencies may also embrace the technology on their benefit and use it to limit crime. I am glad to acknowledge that progress has been made in these areas and will continue to do so.

We need a vision to rip the benefit of global connectivity and innate entrepreneur capability of our countrymen. If we could bring “internet” to the home of every citizen who can read and write, our national productivity will grow tremendously. It will very well justify the investment and return in multiple times in magnitude both in terms of monetary amount and national development. I know there is good and bad element in “internet” however there are many ways that can be guarded. Next thing is the adaptation. I know from my decades of experiences on designing the most complex technology of microprocessor that the continuation of computer adaptation will reach the poorest of poor all over the world. We experienced it through cell phone. With a proud nation of micro credit a USD$100 computer will be an everyday thing for most of the family in Bangladesh, given that our desire to make life better given the chances. Now if we can hook them up, we could offer many applications over the net for their everyday life.
I know piracy is an issue and we don’t have locally developed software; but it is a catch 22 or chicken an egg problem. We can use the cell phone cost model. The software will stay where the server is and people will pay, say 1 taka for every usage. Now along with the national identification, tracking will be easy for doing any business with anyone inside the country.

What impact it could bring to our everyday life? “None” from this event of IGW auction; however, as I said, this could be the first baby step. Next, BTRC may think about how it could remove the boulder from our path to the virtual world. Suppose, you have a unique idea of a movie or drama or a music video. You want an investor or a producer. Today you can upload a sample of you work to “youtube” and chances are that someone will like it and call you if it were real good. This is for individual level. For business opportunities, Off course, if our broadband price structure is competitive like India then we may also expect a flow of job outsourcing in to Bangladesh from India as subcontractor level. As we gain experience and confidence, more job will come from West to take advantage of cost effective alternatives.

I took a little detour from the main point here to make a forward looking argument. Now to the main point. Three companies Novotel, Mir and Bangla Tarc will share 51.75% revenue with BTRC. In addition to that they have to share 35% with down stream network partner, like 15% with interconnection exchanges and 20% with network service provider according to the news. Till today 100% of the revenue goes to BTRC and illegal channels like VOIP gateways.
I think this transfer of control and management will not make any direct impact to the consumers as I understand. Because all the call rates remain almost indifferent. However one problem it solved. As the BTRC chairman Manzurul Alam put it, “ ..boost the revenue earning of the government”. If you pay careful attention then one question will come to your mind that, “the new 51.75% revenue sharing will boost revenue from 100% revenue, it use to collect.” The major black hole was the call termination business by VOIP, where a group of smart syndicate stealing the revenue as there was no oversight and regulation enforcement.

I am a fervent believer of free market economy. I believe in fair, competitive, level playing, and nondiscriminatory business environment. I salute the auction initiative and I hope and pray that this open market strategy will create a competitive, self-correcting mechanics which will benefit the consumer and business entities. This has better chance to improve quality of service as accountability is in the core of the system.