"We can't sign the agreement with Teletalk until the cases against it have been disposed," said an official of the Association of Telecom Operators, Bangladesh (ATOB).

The High Court on April 17 issued a ruling, seeking explanation from the government why the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board's (BTTB) mobile phone license and its subsequent transfer to Teletalk should not be declared illegal. The explanation has been called within the next eight weeks.

The high court bench ruling also stated that the 15 respondents cannot transfer any shares or movable or immovable property until the case against Teletalk has been disposed.

Petitioners -- freelance journalist and telecom consultant Abu Saeed Khan and chief executive officer,Asset and Investment Management Services (AIMS) of Bangladesh Limited, HM Yawer Sayeed -- alleged that the formation of the Teletalk company took an illegal turn in ensuring that the seven individuals who owned the company were free to transfer their shares to anyone they wish.

These complications have restricted the 10,000 customers of the state-owned Teletalk in making calls to subscribers of the four private cellular phone operators, who have over five million subscribers across the country.

The private operators permitted Teletalk to access their networks for about a month, hoping the company would come forward to complete formalities.

Teletalk started commercial operations on March 31.

To run a test on their network, Teletalk took one E-1 connectivity from private operators: GrameenPhone, Telecom Malaysia International Bangladesh (TMIB), Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL) and Sheba Telecom, the present Banglalink service provider.

BTTB signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ATOB for temporary use of interconnectivity, which expired on March 25.

Teletalk suspended its subscription drive on third-day of its launch as it lacked the capacity to handle the huge rush for its service and because of the technical problems it faced.

The enthusiasm grew as prospective Teletalk subscribers were drawn to the free incoming calls as none of the private operators offer such facilities.