Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has extended one month more time for implementation of 10 second pulse, officials said.
The BTRC took the decision on Tuesday to increase the timing in response of the mobile operators' request.
The BTRC directive read that it (10 second pulse) will be effective for all packages, irrespectively with Interactive Voice Response (IVR), for ensuring quality of service.
Earlier the state-run BTRC gave notice several times to implement its decision but the operators did not pay heed regarding this issue. At last the authorities strictly ordered them to comply with its decision from August 15 this month. Then only the state owned operator Teletalk implemented it, while other five operators submitted application to the authorities to reconsider their decision, according to reports.
After implementing the decision, the users who will talk for, say one minute and three seconds but will pay for one minute and 10 seconds, not for two minutes.
A total of six operators-GrameenPhone, Banglalink, Robi, Airtel, Citycell and Teletalk-are giving 2G mobile phone service to over 93 million people.
Currently, the minimum rate for an on-net (to same operator) call is 25 paisa per minute and the minimum rate for an off-net (to a different operator) call is 65 paisa per minute.
Most private cell phone operators have reduced their on-net tariff to a minimum level but still the off-net tariff is high, above Tk 1.0. It is found that each of the operators has at least seven packages.
BBN/SSR/AD-29Aug12-11:30 am (BST)
