Dhaka, July 6 (IANS) A committee of Bangladesh’s parliament has opposed arbitrary government powers to punish erring firms in the telecom and IT sectors and recommended the setting up of a telecom appeal board.
Responding to concerns expressed by two largely private-run sectors that have significant foreign investments, the parliamentary standing committee on post and telecommunications ministry recommended setting up the telecom appeal board.
To be headed by a high court judge, the board would allow telecom operators and information and communication technology (ICT) based organisations to appeal against actions of the government and the state’s Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission.
The parliamentary body scrutinised a bill seeking amendments to the Bangladesh Telecommunications Act 2010, which proposes several amendments to the act including punishment to telecom operators for wrongdoings and giving them no scope for challenging the actions of the government or Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
‘Once the telecom appeal board is formed, any organisation aggrieved by the government or BTRC’s actions can file appeal with the board challenging the action,’ said Hasanul Haque Inu, chief of the parliamentary body.
He said the appeal board would dispose of an appeal within 60 days upon receiving it.
Among the recent entrants in Bangladesh’s fast-expanding telecom sector is Indian major Bharti Airtel that purchased stake in Warid, a Dubai-based firm.
