The challenges & opportunities with ICX (Inter Connection Exchange) licenses in Bangladesh

Mustafa Hussain, Chief Operating Officer , VOICETEL Limited and Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics & Communications Engineering, East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. mustafamhussain@gmail.com

In the light of newly introduced ILDTS (international Long Distance Telecommunication Services) Policy 2011, BTRC has issued 25 numbers of new ICX (Inter Connection Exchange) licenses.

All inter operator Calls/SMS/MMS/ will have to be switched/ routed through these exchanges. All international voice traffic to and from Bangladesh will have to pass through these licensed inter connection exchanges too.

We have formed a company VOICETEL Limited and got the license to operate the ICX. Our initiators are very well conversant with Telecommunication industry with versatile international and local experience and exposure.

We have excellent access to the best technology solutions and human resources in the market. We are well aware of the market situation and trends. We have outstanding relationship with IGWs and mobile operators with whom to deal with.

ICX has the unique opportunity to play the major roll in futuristic services like Number portability, NGN, ENUM, VAS, Content, MVNO etc. These services shall give ICX further revenue and growth potential in future.

A dynamic team can also get further market share by introducing innovative services from the ICX platform.

Technology & Process

As per the BTRC requirements we have selected the most appropriate technology solution for the ICX. We are in contact with multiple foreign vendors for the technology. Due to our exposure in the sector and existing relationship with the vendors we have partnered with the best technology product at the most attractive price. We are also getting further independent support from world class renowned industry experts for the technical solution. We are building a world class technology infrastructure. We have selected Huawei to deliver the high quality technology and competitive total solution. Huawei has become the global leader in softswitch market and the best partner for operators dedicated to network transformation. Huawei has maintained top 1 in the global NGN market for 5 consecutive years. Up to now, the SoftX3000 has been deployed in more than 100 countries or areas, such as Britain, Germany, America, Russia, Portugal, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and China. With NGN solutions based on the fixed softswitch, Huawei has gained plenty of experience in total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction, inheritance of traditional and supplementary services, open structure, introduction of new services, security and reliability, successful PSTN migration, and smooth evolution to IMS network. This solution has been adopted by many mainstream operators for their network transformations, such as the intelligent network reform of China Telecom, STC network reform of Saudi Arabia, TM network reform of Malaysia, and Etisalat network reform of Dubai.

Our system will have all prerequisite features with potential expansion scope. The system will be capable of handling future technology (NGN). This system will be connected to the IGW operators

using our own fiber network. The local ANS operators will connect to ICX by themselves (mandated by law), we will ensure connectivity options only.

Initially all connectivity will be TDM (SS7) but in future IP connectivity may be introduced. We are planning to have a soft switch at the core with TDM gateways for connectivity.

There will be billing and network management arrangements in our system. As per the requirement the system will be LI (Lawful Interception) ready, which is a critical part of the system as all Law enforcing agencies shall have full access for the lawful monitoring of the system and the calls.

VOICETEL Limited has selected the Capana for the CapSettle Advanced Interconnect Wholesale Settlement System. CapSettle provides the most efficient wholesale billing solution while optimizing performance and positive cash flow. VoiceTel was impressed by the Capana approach which combined excellent technology, quality services combined with flexibility and commitment to the Bangladesh market. Telenor has chosen Capana to provide its mediation , interconnect settlements solution; and Convergent Settlements .

This is a unique opportunity to VOICETEL Limited . The revenue is guaranteed and there is no need of marketing effort what so ever as BTRC is mandating the flow of traffic to all operators. There is a huge potential of growth by introducing other services from this platform. ICX shall grow as it will be the Hub of all telecom operations in Bangladesh.

We have all required knowledge, experience, resources and the relationships to make the business a success. We predict that the business would be extremely profitable even after giving a lion revenue share to BTRC.

About The author: .

Mustafa Hussain Mustafa has considerable experience of the telecommunications industry including its market, standards and regulations. Amongst the recent engagements that Mustafa has carried out are: The Implementation of Technology Integration Solutions, Telecom Technology & Regulatory Strategy Management, Network. Management, Operations and Rollout, Proje ct Management, Marketing and Sales for a Telecommunications company, Tasks related to Product Road map, Product Proposals, Product Presentations, Solution write-ups, Technical Pre-sales, Concept papers, New Venture Roll out, New initiative and business opportunity, Design of Telecom Business models and innovative strategies. Mustafa operates effectively at technical, marketing and strategic management levels and is a competent and practical engineer in both academic and commercial environments. He is also a PR/Communication specialist. Mustafa holds MSc Engineering Degree in Telecommunications from Kings College London. He is an Assistant Professor of East West University. The author can be contacted at mustafamhussain@gmail.com