IT minister warns of service disruptions
IT & Telecom Minister Syed Aminul Haque on Tuesday said that the limits set for letters of credit (LCs) facility for the telecom sector were insufficient. “Without much-needed technical parts there are fears of service disruptions in many areas,” Mr Haque warned while presiding over the 44th Policy Committee meeting of the Universal Service Fund (USF). He said that limited permissions for the LCs were creating obstacles in the import of mobile networking upgrading equipment that was disrupting the overall performance of the IT and telecom sector. “Telecom companies were facing difficulty in importing parts and equipment due to limited permission of LCs and it may also result in a delay in projects for the provision of 4G services in far-flung areas of the country,” the minister noted. The officials informed the meeting that complaints have been received from telcos, IT companies and their backend equipment suppliers that they were facing difficulties to import even the essential equipment needed to operate systems.