Teletalk users are bearing the brunt of prolonged load shedding due to the state-owned telecom company's poor capacity to provide battery support for its network coverage.
It has been learned that Teletalk provides network coverage to its 65 lakh users through 5,661 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), fixed radio transceivers in any mobile network.
While 3,856 BTS have battery support, 830 towers have no option to remain operational without power connections.
Moreover, 40% of the towers with battery support cannot keep the network operational one hour after a power outage, although a BTS is supposed to have battery support for 4-8 hours.
Teletalk towers were brought under battery coverage during the rollout of the 3G network in 2013.
With the arrival of summer, the frequency and duration of load shedding have increased, leaving a large number of towers out of operational capacity during power cuts.
"There is no scope for denying the battery crisis. Users struggle to get the network in the absence of electricity," Teletalk Managing Director Habibur Rahman said.
He said a proposal with an estimated cost of Tk45 crore has been sent to the government to keep the towers active during load shedding, which is awaiting evaluation by the Planning Commission.
Additionally, he said another proposal with an estimated cost of Tk2,204 crore is in progress for the launch of the 5G network.
"If any amount can be saved from this project, it will be used to improve battery support," he added.
The number of Teletalk users dropped by 2,30,000 last year.
Soon after assuming office, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Zunaid Ahmed Palak issued instructions to make all state-owned institutions profitable by 30 June this year.
Palak warned that "if the institutions running at a loss are not transformed into profitable ones, stern actions will be taken. Not a single company under the jurisdiction of the telecommunications department should run at a loss."
Teletalk has a due of over Tk5,000 crore in total, with the government alone having an arrear of Tk2,000 crore.
The company also owes Tk389 crore to the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board, in addition to a debt of Tk360 crore to various private banks and financial institutions.
