For a variety of reasons, roads in Dhaka and other parts of the country are cut and, as a result, many telecommunication infrastructures are adversely affected. This causes mobile networks to fluctuate with snapped Internet lines.
Due to absence of a policy, expensive fibre optic cables get cut off. To prevent this, work is underway to formulate a policy, called the policy on subterranean work to safeguard fibre optic cables.
Due to cutting of cables, relevant companies face financial loss.
The policy being drafted will have three sides, local government and engineering department, city corporation and municipality and union parishad plus mobile operators with BTRC licence.
Post, telecommunication and information technology minister, Mostafa Jabbar, says: “A policy is crucial; everything must have a system; since road cutting has increased, we are worried.”
There is a map of firbe optic cable and if the map is consulted then cables will not be cut off, he added.
General secretary of Internet facility providing body, ISPAB, Imdadul Huq, says: “If the cable is cut then services are hampered; so a policy is essential.”
Last year, at a DNCC meeting presided over by PM’s information and technology adviser, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, a decision was taken to formulate a policy declaring optic cables as national asset.
As per mobile phone operators, on average fifty optic cables are cut off every month in the capital with the number going to 100 all over the country.
Additional chief engineer of Dhaka South City Corporation, DSCC, Asaduzzaman, says: “We have a cell looking after road digging and this provides compensation for any damage.”
Meanwhile, DSCC urban planner, Sirajul Islam, observes: “As an urban planner, I must say that indiscriminate digging must stop; if the digging is done as per plan then people and mobile operators, both will be spared from suffering.”