UNB, Dhaka :
Speakers at a public hearing here on the proposed Robi-Airtel merger stressed keeping up the interests of employees and clients of the two telecom operators following the tentative merger.
They also recommended cautions to ensure that no monopoly is established as an outcome as the two telecom operators will enjoy a customer base of about four crore, one-third of the total mobile users in Bangladesh.
Representatives from different government, semi-autonomous and autonomous
agencies, telecommunication service providers, mobile phone users, consumers and professionals came up with their opinions participating in the public hearing on the merger, held at the conference room of the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
Barrister Anik R Haque on behalf Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) said the job security of the employees must be ensured if the two mobile operators get merged. Noting that the share of the three largest mobile operators will be 96 percent of the market after the Robi-Airtel merger, he expressed concern that the three operators may not concentrate on improving the standards of services and they may establish monopoly in the market.
Anik also said, if the spectrums of the two operators are combined following the possible merger, the combined spectrum will be the largest in the country. It will have to be clarified first if the spectrums of the companies are merged, he added.
In reply, BTRC chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood said the two operators have assured that no one is going to lose jobs after the proposed merger. “The merger depends on four major issues. A high-level committee of the BTRC will give the final opinion about the merger based on a survey and opinion of the mobile operators and the public hearing.
Subsequently, the court will give the final decision,” he said. The High Court on January 29 last asked the government and the telecom regulator BTRC to come to a final decision on the proposed merger in eight weeks’ time.
Speaking at the hearing, businessman Farhan Chowdhury said cautions should exercised so that there no suffering is caused to the customers in receiving services after the merger. Another businessman, Ashique Chowdhury, said they support the merger but want their SIM numbers to remain unchanged.
In response, vice president, Technical Regulation, Regulatory Affairs at Robi Axiata Ltd Anamika Bhakta said the SIM numbers will remain unchanged for two to three years following the merger, but fresh SIM against Airtlel numbers will not be supplied after a certain period.
Speakers at a public hearing here on the proposed Robi-Airtel merger stressed keeping up the interests of employees and clients of the two telecom operators following the tentative merger.
They also recommended cautions to ensure that no monopoly is established as an outcome as the two telecom operators will enjoy a customer base of about four crore, one-third of the total mobile users in Bangladesh.
Representatives from different government, semi-autonomous and autonomous
agencies, telecommunication service providers, mobile phone users, consumers and professionals came up with their opinions participating in the public hearing on the merger, held at the conference room of the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
Barrister Anik R Haque on behalf Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) said the job security of the employees must be ensured if the two mobile operators get merged. Noting that the share of the three largest mobile operators will be 96 percent of the market after the Robi-Airtel merger, he expressed concern that the three operators may not concentrate on improving the standards of services and they may establish monopoly in the market.
Anik also said, if the spectrums of the two operators are combined following the possible merger, the combined spectrum will be the largest in the country. It will have to be clarified first if the spectrums of the companies are merged, he added.
In reply, BTRC chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood said the two operators have assured that no one is going to lose jobs after the proposed merger. “The merger depends on four major issues. A high-level committee of the BTRC will give the final opinion about the merger based on a survey and opinion of the mobile operators and the public hearing.
Subsequently, the court will give the final decision,” he said. The High Court on January 29 last asked the government and the telecom regulator BTRC to come to a final decision on the proposed merger in eight weeks’ time.
Speaking at the hearing, businessman Farhan Chowdhury said cautions should exercised so that there no suffering is caused to the customers in receiving services after the merger. Another businessman, Ashique Chowdhury, said they support the merger but want their SIM numbers to remain unchanged.
In response, vice president, Technical Regulation, Regulatory Affairs at Robi Axiata Ltd Anamika Bhakta said the SIM numbers will remain unchanged for two to three years following the merger, but fresh SIM against Airtlel numbers will not be supplied after a certain period.
