Overhead cables removal order runs into snag
The cable TV operators and internet service providers (ISPs) have expressed their inability to comply with the government decision to remove the risky overhead cables from electric poles across the capital by October 31.
SM Anwar Parvez, former president of Cable Operators Association Bangladesh (COAB), at a press conference on Sunday demanded extension of the deadline for at least one year to remove the overhead cables and setting up a common duct for underground transmission system by the government.
Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (Desco) asked the cable operators and ISPs to remove the risky overhead cables from its electricity poles by October 31.
There are around 600 cable TV operators and 92 ISPs in the city. More than 10 lakh internet users and 3.5 lakh television viewers are connected through overhead cables with their networks.
Akhtaruzzaman Manju, president of Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB), told The Daily Star it would be quite impossible for them to go for underground cable networking within the deadline due to lack of necessary infrastructure and technical supports.
Users of Internet and cable TV in the city will suffer if the authorities concerned start to remove the overhead cables by the deadline, presidents of COAB and ISPAB observed.
Till now, a total of 37 ISPs and five cable operators have signed agreements with the Fiber @ Home Ltd, a nationwide telecommunication transmission network (NTTN) service provider, to use its underground transmission system.
Fiber @ Home Ltd has installed a 1,200-kilometer-long transmission networks across the country covering 23 districts and 90 upazilas, said its Managing Director Moynul Hoque Siddique.
Summit Communications Ltd, another NTTN service provider, received licence from Bangladesh Telecommu-nication Regulatory Commission in December 2009 to provide the same services to the operators.
Desco Managing Director Saleh Ahmed alleged that the cable operators and ISP association members are defying the government order to avoid additional charge that would have to be incurred by them if underground cable network systems are introduced.
If the cable TV and internet services are interrupted after the Desco's move to remove overhead cables, the energy ministry would take further decision in this regard, he said adding that the cable operators and ISPs set their overhead cables without following any rules and regulations to the risk of the pedestrians.
"Haphazard installation of cables puts huge load on the electricity posts. That is why we directed them to go for underground transmission system," Saleh Ahmed added.
Sources at ISPAB told The Daily Star that a meeting will be held regarding removal of risky overhead cables at the office of Power Grid Company of Bangladesh today.
-Daily Star
SM Anwar Parvez, former president of Cable Operators Association Bangladesh (COAB), at a press conference on Sunday demanded extension of the deadline for at least one year to remove the overhead cables and setting up a common duct for underground transmission system by the government.
Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (Desco) asked the cable operators and ISPs to remove the risky overhead cables from its electricity poles by October 31.
There are around 600 cable TV operators and 92 ISPs in the city. More than 10 lakh internet users and 3.5 lakh television viewers are connected through overhead cables with their networks.
Akhtaruzzaman Manju, president of Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB), told The Daily Star it would be quite impossible for them to go for underground cable networking within the deadline due to lack of necessary infrastructure and technical supports.
Users of Internet and cable TV in the city will suffer if the authorities concerned start to remove the overhead cables by the deadline, presidents of COAB and ISPAB observed.
Till now, a total of 37 ISPs and five cable operators have signed agreements with the Fiber @ Home Ltd, a nationwide telecommunication transmission network (NTTN) service provider, to use its underground transmission system.
Fiber @ Home Ltd has installed a 1,200-kilometer-long transmission networks across the country covering 23 districts and 90 upazilas, said its Managing Director Moynul Hoque Siddique.
Summit Communications Ltd, another NTTN service provider, received licence from Bangladesh Telecommu-nication Regulatory Commission in December 2009 to provide the same services to the operators.
Desco Managing Director Saleh Ahmed alleged that the cable operators and ISP association members are defying the government order to avoid additional charge that would have to be incurred by them if underground cable network systems are introduced.
If the cable TV and internet services are interrupted after the Desco's move to remove overhead cables, the energy ministry would take further decision in this regard, he said adding that the cable operators and ISPs set their overhead cables without following any rules and regulations to the risk of the pedestrians.
"Haphazard installation of cables puts huge load on the electricity posts. That is why we directed them to go for underground transmission system," Saleh Ahmed added.
Sources at ISPAB told The Daily Star that a meeting will be held regarding removal of risky overhead cables at the office of Power Grid Company of Bangladesh today.
-Daily Star
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