Telecom white paper exposes deep-rooted graft

Bangladesh's telecom sector is suffering from entrenched corruption, systemic irregularities and a governance breakdown that has weakened regulatory credibility, distorted markets and wasted public resources, according to a government-commissioned white paper.

Prepared by a seven-member committee headed by Buet Professor Kamrul Hasan, the white paper paints a bleak picture of a sector "structurally misaligned, operationally compromised and failing to deliver trusted, affordable connectivity".

Formed on April 20, the committee reviewed governance practices across 10 entities under the Posts and Telecommunications Division (PTD).

It found that policy neglect, unchecked favouritism, politicised appointments and procurement manipulation had accumulated over the years.

The document, based on a forensic review of 10 key entities under the PTD, exposes a systemic "governance capture" that has crippled regulatory authority, bled state-owned enterprises and defrauded the public.

From the highest regulatory body to project implementation cells, the sector operates on favouritism, bypasses competitive processes and treats public resources as a vehicle for patronage.

"These structural deficiencies produce systemic risks to meritocracy, institutional credibility, service delivery and long-term sector reform."

The chaos is "symptomatic of misaligned institutional architecture rather than isolated incidents".

BTRC's practices have eroded institutional integrity and diminished the credibility of sector oversight.

— The white paper read

At the heart of the crisis is the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the agency tasked with regulating the sector.

The white paper found the BTRC itself to be a primary source of irregularity, with its credibility shattered by its own actions.

The commission was accused of "non-competitive recruitment, misclassification of candidates, excessive age relaxations, improper absorption of project-funded staff, re-employment of retirees and conflicted commissioner appointments".

By blurring the lines between regulator and employer, the BTRC created a self-serving system.

"BTRC's practices have eroded institutional integrity and diminished the credibility of sector oversight," the report said.

The irregularities at the top set a precedent for the entire ecosystem.

The malaise spread through state-owned enterprises like Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited and Teletalk, where boards became instruments of "governance capture and politicised board-level decision-making".

The report details "ad hoc contractual hiring, repeated contract renewals treated as de facto permanent employment, politicised extensions of acting leadership [and] appointments of under-qualified candidates" including instances where fake credentials were accepted.

The committee underscores that "high autonomy without accompanying accountability often translates into favouritism and circumvention of rules".

The licensing regime between 2009 and 2024 is described as a period of "systemic weaknesses" that "facilitated rent-seeking behaviour".

The shift to a liberalised policy in 2010 was executed "without credible baseline studies or impact analysis", creating instant regulatory instability that was exploited by the well-connected.

"Licences and approvals often advantaged politically connected firms, while similarly positioned applicants without patronage faced obstruction."

The report called the IGW Operators Forum a cartel that centralised funds and enabled "opaque fund flows with alleged revenue leakage".

Furthermore, cross-ownership rules allowed a few conglomerates -- specifically naming Summit and Fiber@Home -- to establish an oligopoly over national fibre, leading to "high leasing costs and transfer of government-built assets under unfavourable revenue-sharing arrangements".

The consequence was a "fragmented, high-friction market" where "discretionary approvals, ad hoc exemptions and inconsistent enforcement were pervasive".

The committee found that the BTRC's autonomy was severely curtailed by political interference, making impartial oversight impossible.

"Regulatory credibility suffers when the principal regulator exhibits the same irregularities it is tasked with policing," the report said.

After reviewing 42 PTD projects worth Tk 20,009.82 crore, the white paper committee found nearly half were deficient.

The Social Obligation Fund, designed to bridge the digital divide, is presented as an emblem of failure, marked by "dormant funds, irregular procurement, weak evaluation and minimal industry engagement".

Procurement rules were blatantly violated. The white paper committee identified the state-owned Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS) as a "recurring bypass mechanism" used to award contracts non-competitively to favoured parties.

Direct procurement method and tailored tender language were repeatedly used to enable single-source awards, contract splitting and circumvent competitive processes, the report said.

Meanwhile, the Bangabandhu Satellite-1, now renamed the Bangladesh Satellite 1 project, is highlighted as a case study in technical and financial failure, approved without proper feasibility, leading to massive underutilisation and unresolved audit objections.

Field inspections by white paper committee members found BTCL Wi-Fi hotspots and Teletalk towers "physically present but not operational", a symbol of investments turning into worthless liabilities.

"The white paper demonstrates that the transformation of Bangladesh's post and telecommunications ecosystem has been constrained not by technological limitations, but by systemic governance, institutional and operational weaknesses."

The committee recommends immediate action to digitise HR systems, reform autonomy and accountability structures, establish a national telecom master plan, strengthen procurement oversight, introduce an independent appeals mechanism and rebuild consumer protection architecture.