In Conversation with BTRC Chairman Dr. Shahjahan Mahmood

As the Chairman of BTRC Dr. Shahjahan Mahmood, the top-notch technocrat who is taking on the challenges of the telecommunication sector like a pro, has proved to be a key person driving the sector towards the goals the government has set to revolutionize the country.

By Mustafa zaman
In his late 50s, Dr. Shahjahan Mahmood, the current chairman of BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission), exudes confidence and joviality rare among technocrats of his age. As the Colors team meet him at his Suhrawardy Park-side office in the BTRC’s seven story building, on an afternoon slowly inching towards a clement evening, the words mouthed by this iconic personality coursed through some honest reflections on his mammoth enterprise and its challenges. He also touched on the initial hiccups he had to face as well as the efforts he and his colleagues are regularly putting in towards disciplined operation and improved services. BTRC is now at a considerable height of its performance, thanks to its new leader.
Dr. Shahjahan is a non-resident Bangladeshi who was summarily summoned back to his former home from his last working post Washington to be placed at the helm of the Bangladesh’s telecommunication sector. As the new chairman of BTRC, his enterprising leadership has literally spelt magic since he joined in October, 2015.
It was at the behest of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that the prodigy of communication engineering finally left his second home USA to return to his country of birth. He was shouldered with the task of taking the telecommunication services to the next level in accord with the current government’s aspirations.
What enticed him to decide in favor of his “return” is the opportunity to work for his motherland. “I thought that this was an opportunity of a life time – to give back something to the country. This was also an opportunity to work in close proximity with the daughter of Bangabandhu, Sheikh Hasina and his son and a competent leader in the field, Sajeeb Wazed Joy,” says Dr. Shahjahan, faced with a barrage of queries from the editorial team lead by the publisher and editor Zakaria Masud.
To say Dr. Shahjahan was an able candidate for this post would be a truism, he was a well placed technocrat and brings with him “experience of 20 years in the field of Corporate Governance, Communication Engineering.”
Even though his home coming meant a “drastic cut in his monthly income,” Dr. Shahjahan Mahmood willingly took the challenges that entails his chairmanship. After joining, he was faced with the proverbial problem of what he calls ” movement” in official matters “which was very much well defined where I used to work.” “Nothing moves here the way it used to in the USA. I must say something about the bureaucratic process — it is very lengthy in this country,” he hastens to add.
The “quantum jump” from the LDC to DC is something that necessitated the telecommunication sector to play a central role, believes Dr Shahjahan. And that is exactly what he and his team strove for. Among the 47 LDCs only five could make it to the next level, and Bangladesh has also graduated to the level of DC with flying colors showing strength in all three categories — which are Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, the Human Assets Index (HAI) and the Economic Vulnerability (EVI) Index besides other country-specific information.
But to be at the helm of BTRC and fix some the problems that eternally kept surfacing to hinder progress was not an easy task. The first priority “was to improve the quality of service which was very poor,” Dr. Shahjahan points out. Though he believes they are still a long way to go, after taking over, Dr. Shahjahan started working with the possible solutions in view. “The operators do not have enough spectrum in their hands. If you compare with the situation in other countries such as Malaysia, their spectrum holdings are much larger than what we have here,” he clarifies.
Measuring the quality of the service among other priorities was something he resolved to solve next. Equipments were brought in that can be sent to the furthest corners of the country to measure the quality of service since monitoring was one of the key issue that needed resolving. “As consumers we all know that the monthly report the operators produce on their services is a far cry from the actual scenario; in reality their performance is far below the expectation, which the reports do not reflect,” he points out.
Additionally, two other pressing issues Dr. Shahjahan had to take on were about “bringing down the internet price and ensuring data safety.” “There are three factors that one needs to have – availability, affordability and safety. I started working on these three and is still working on them.”
BTRC is also looking to take telecom service to the remote areas of the country that are disconnected from the mainland including the enclaves along the borders “where sending the fiver optics cable does not make business sense.” So they are looking to “ensure service through satellite.”
As for the 1st satellite that BTRC is putting into space, it will not be entangled itself in providing internet services. Auspiciously called Bangabandhu 1, Bangladesh’s 1st satellite will “be used primarily for communication but not for internet services.” The huge transformation that is forthcoming is in the television channel services. The channels subscribing to foreign satellites cost a hefty amount – 14 million USD per year, and BTRC’s aim is to cut it down considerably.
“Once we launch Bangabandhu 1, all the private channels would shift from foreign satellite to our own; we would be saving a lot of foreign currency,” Dr. Shahjahan confirms. “We would have 40 transponders and only 20 of them would be used for our own consumption. The rest would be rented out to countries like Indonesia, Philippines, and Kazakhstan,” he adds.
On the expected revenue target he says, “I am hoping that the money that are being spent now, will be recovered half way of the satellite’s mission life which is expected to last 15 years. The design is such that we would be able to extend its life another three years. I am hoping that the design life would be 18 years — so we would start earning the surplus after eight years.”
The launch of Bangabandhu 1 has been pushed back a little. The 3rd week of April is the readjusted launch date.
In November 2015, the BTRC signed a USD 248 million deal with Thales Alenia Space to manufacture and launch the country’s first satellite. Under the project, two earth stations have been set up at Joydebpur in Gazipur and Betbunia in Rangamati. Once it begins operation it will save the national exchequer Tk 110-120 crore in broadcasting expenditure annually, according to a newspaper report.
As newly eligible DC country, Bangladesh needs to reorient itself on many levels – areas where we are lagging behind as well as where we are showing signs of progress. BTRC certainly falls in the latter category. Dr. Shahjahan’s magic wand has been at work in maintaining its steady development. In 2008 per data cost was 27 thousand per Mbps, and now it has come down to 500 taka Mbps. Half of the population has now internet access. Additionally, data consumption in 2008 was only 10 Gbps, at present it has increased to 500 Gbps.
“Data is like oil in the contemporary age. Oil drives the machineries and data drives the information age. Bangladesh has made a quantum leap in this sector,” Dr. Shahjahan sums up the achievement of the last few years.
We could see that the sun was about to set against the lush green backdrop of the Suhrawardy Park, still there was time for a parting comment: “The mobile sector is the key enabler in the development of all the other sectors. In order to keep the momentum going we need to ensure steady progress in the telecom sector.”