BTRC proposal to give officials 60pc allowance on basic pay raises questions

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has decided to provide its officials and employees with a ‘regulatory allowance’ at the rate of 60 per cent of their basic salary every month.

In support of the allowance, commission officials cite their long-standing role in collecting government revenue, their responsibilities in regulating the telecommunications sector, and the restriction preventing them from joining any other technology company for six months after leaving their jobs. At its latest commission meeting, the BTRC also decided to send a proposal to the government on the matter.

However, public administration experts raised questioned on the justification for providing the allowance at 60 per cent of basic salary. They say the justification for a special allowance for officials and employees of a regulatory body cannot be determined solely by the amount of revenue it collects.

Former secretary and former rector of the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) AKM Abdul Awal Majumder does not support the BTRC officials’ justification for receiving a 60 per cent regulatory allowance.

Asked about the matter, he told Prothom Alo, “Collecting revenue from the telecommunications sector is part of BTRC’s job. That is what they joined the organisation to do. So it is not reasonable to demand something extra on the grounds of collecting more revenue.”

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) was established in 2002 as the regulatory body for the country’s telecommunications sector. It was established under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001. Its main responsibilities are to ensure the orderly development of the country’s telecommunications system, ensure service quality and establish effective regulation of the sector.

BTRC’s responsibilities include issuing licences for telecommunications services, spectrum management, overseeing service quality and pricing, protecting consumer interests, ensuring compliance with licence conditions and regulating the activities of various entities in the telecommunications sector.

Alongside its regulatory functions, the commission collects licence fees, renewal fees, revenue-sharing payments and spectrum charges from licensed telecommunications companies.

However, BTRC has placed revenue collection at the centre of its justification for the allowance. According to data from the commission’s finance, accounts and revenue department, BTRC collected a total of Tk 857.80 billion (85,779.82 crore) in revenue over 25 years, from the 2001-02 to 2025-26 fiscal years. In the latest 2025-26 fiscal year, revenue collection stood at Tk 38.85 billion (3,885.24 crore).

The government also sets revenue collection targets for BTRC as part of its revenue estimates. Those targets are being increased year after year. For example, in the budget concerning revenue earnings of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, BTRC’s revenue target has been set at Tk 60.36 billion (6,036 crore) for the 2026-27 fiscal year. It has been raised to Tk 66.40 billion (6,640 crore) for 2027-28 and Tk 73.04 billion (7,304 crore) for 2028-29.

However, BTRC is not operated as a commercial entity. The commission is responsible for collecting the revenue that the government receives from various licensed telecommunications companies. Most of that money is deposited into the government treasury.

Experts said that although BTRC collects a large amount of revenue, the performance of the commission as a regulator cannot be assessed solely by the amount of revenue it collects. The quality of telecommunications services, consumer complaints, operators’ compliance with licence conditions, spectrum management and protection of consumer interests are also part of its responsibilities.

Questions have also been raised recently over a large amount of money owed to the government by the telecommunications sector. In information provided to parliament in June this year, Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam said the country’s four mobile operators owed the government a total of Tk 131.44 billion (13,144 crore) in revenue.

Of this, Grameenphone owed Tk 61.02 billion (6,101.82 crore), Teletalk Tk 59.54 billion (5,954 crore), Robi Tk 6.15 billion (615 crore) and Banglalink Tk 4.73 billion (473 crore). The outstanding amounts include licence fees, revenue-sharing payments, spectrum fees, administrative fines and audit objections, among other items.

BTRC has also been unable to collect long-standing dues owed by International Internet Gateway (IIG) operators. According to BTRC data, the government has around Tk e billion (200 crore) in outstanding dues from 24 IIG companies.

Collecting these large outstanding amounts, ensuring service quality and enforcing compliance with licence conditions are also part of BTRC’s responsibilities as a regulatory body. The commission’s performance in these areas has been questioned at various times.

In its documents, BTRC cited not only revenue collection but also the nature of the officials’ responsibilities and their professional expertise in proposing a special allowance for its officers and employees.

The document said BTRC officers and employees are responsible for establishing, operating and regulating telecommunications services, ensuring service quality, collecting revenue and depositing money into the government treasury. Incentives are needed to maintain their efficiency, professionalism and impartiality. For this reason, a regulatory allowance at the rate of 60 per cent of basic salary has been proposed for the commission’s officers and employees.

In this regard, BTRC also cited benefits available to officials of several other government institutions. The document mentions incentive bonuses equivalent to basic salaries for officials of Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), and a risk allowance of 20 per cent for officials of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Meanwhile, under the amended provisions of the Telecommunications Act, no BTRC commissioner, employee or consultant may join any licensed telecommunications company for at least six months after leaving the job.

Such provisions are generally intended to reduce potential conflicts of interest arising when someone leaves a regulatory body and quickly joins an organisation subject to its regulation.

The BTRC document highlighted this post-employment restriction as one of the reasons for providing financial incentives to its officers and employees.

Asked about the matter, BTRC Chairman Major General (retd) Md Emdad Ul Bari told Prothom Alo that compensation for BTRC officials should be considered because, as regulators of the telecommunications sector, they have no opportunity to work in the sector for at least six months after leaving their jobs.

According to him, the telecommunications sector changes rapidly every day. As a result, if an official remains outside the sector for six months, there is a risk that their professional skills and experience will quickly become outdated.

He said the proposal for the regulatory allowance was made after considering the incentives available at other government institutions and the BTRC’s revenue collection opportunities.

BTRC officials say that to maintain discipline in the telecommunications sector, the commission also collects money outside the amounts specified in its guidelines, such as share transfer fees, merger fees and administrative fines. According to commission data, more than Tk 12.15 billion (1,215 crore0 was collected from these sources over 21 years, from 2005 to 2026.

On the other hand, according to BTRC documents, the commission spends approximately Tk 2.45 crore a month on salaries and allowances for its officers and employees. Over 21 years, the expenditure amounts to around Tk 617 crore.

A senior BTRC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Prothom Alo that the government could use a portion of the money collected by the commission from various sources to provide the regulatory allowance.