UPDATE: Bangladesh’s Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has confirmed that he has assumed power following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has now fled the country. At the time of writing, data from NetBlocks indicates that internet connectivity has been restored and remains available in Bangladesh.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Bangladesh government ordered mobile operators to shut down 4G services again on Sunday – just days after services were switched back on – amid a fresh wave of deadly violence as protesters demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

According to various media reports, mobile operators said they received orders from the government to shut off their 4G services. Netblocks confirmed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that it detected a drop in internet connectivity in Bangladesh on Sunday that was mainly impacting mobile networks. By mid-day Monday, fixed broadband services were down as well. 

Of the over 131 million internet users in Bangladesh at the end of 2023, the vast majority – 118.49 million – are mobile internet users.

Meanwhile, access to social media sites has also been blocked for all internet users by order of the government, after being briefly restored last Wednesday.

It’s the second time in less than a month that mobile internet services in Bangladesh have been shut down by the government. Bangladesh’s mobile internet went dark on July 17, followed by a complete internet blackout on July 18. Fixed broadband connectivity was fully restored on July 24, while mobile internet services came back online on July 28.

State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak has maintained that last month’s internet blackout was not ordered by the government, but the result of “planned sabotage” by protesters. However, the government has provided little evidence for this, and telecoms experts have questioned whether the damage described by Palak could result in a complete blackout.

The initial internet shutdown occurred after violence broke out amid student protests against a new government jobs quota system that allegedly favored the ruling Awami League party led by Hasina. At least 150 people were reportedly killed in clashes between students, pro-Awami League groups and police.

The latest shutdown comes amid more protests over the weekend in which tens of thousands of protesters demanded Hasina’s resignation, which led to more violent clashes between the same groups. According to media reports, at least 100 people were killed on Sunday.

News 

The group calls for a more equitable access to Openreach’s infrastructure 

Five UK altnets – nexfibre, AllPoints Fibre, Community Fibre, Gigaclear, and the newly merged Netomnia and Brsk – have established a new ‘PIA (Physical Infrastructure Access) Coalition’  to push for fairer access to physical infrastructure operated by Openreach.  

The coalition will call on Ofcom do more to ensure a level playing field for access to Openreach passive infrastructure in its upcoming Telecoms Access Review. 

Combined, the Coalition represents over 5 million premises passed with full fibre, making the Coalition one of the largest users of PIA.   

Alongside the announcement of the Coalition’s formation, the group has also revealed the results of their collective analysis of Openreach’s PIA regulation, showing suggesting alternative operators pay significantly more to access ducts and poles than Openreach charges itself.  

The group warn that, without action, competition and investment in the broadband market will be impacted in the long-term, which will threaten the progress of fibre-to-the-premise rollouts, damaging the UK’s ability to compete internationally.  

“At the moment there is not a level playing field between Openreach and alternative network operators on PIA.  Alternative network operators pay significantly more to access infrastructure compared to Openreach,” said Giles Rowbotham, spokesperson for the PIA Coalition, and General Counsel and Chief Development Officer at nexfibre in a press release. 

“If left unremedied, this disparity risks choking investment, slowing down the rollout of high-speed broadband across the UK, and therefore limiting consumer choice. We’re calling on Ofcom to act in its upcoming market review to ensure a level playing field for all providers and fair and equal access to critical infrastructure,” he continued.  

Ofcom’s upcoming Telecoms Access Review will set the rules for the next few years. The coalition hopes this review will fix the pricing issues, ensuring fair competition and continued investment in the UK’s fibre networks. 

Join the altnets in discussion at this year’s Connected Britain, 11-12 September in London. Get your tickets here! 

Also in the news:
AST SpaceMobile prepares to launch first commercial satellites
nexfibre passes almost 1.3m homes with full fibre
Telstra joins UNESCO’s Business Council to promote ethical AI

News 

The decision comes after auditors were unable to sign off the MVNO’s 2022 accounts 

Lycamobile has lost a major dispute with UK tax authorities over its unpaid VAT, according to a report from the Financial Times. 

Lyca Mobile is one of the world’s largest Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and provides services using EE’s network in the UK. 

The dispute is related to the unpaid VAT placed on customer “bundles” over the last seven years, amounting to £51 million. 

Earlier this year, the company’s auditor PKF Littlejohn confirmed that it was unable to sign off its 2022 accounts. Lycamobile had claimed that it did not have to pay VAT unless customers had used the bundle packages (e.g. calls, text, and data allowances).  

A tax tribunal, however, has backed HMRC, which argued that the VAT was chargeable at the point of sale, regardless of whether the customer then used the package. 

According to the most recent 2022 company accounts, the company had1.7 million subscribers with revenues of £145 million. It has set aside £99 million to cover the VAT costs, but the actual amount will be decided at a later date. 

“We are pleased with the judgment, which is consistent with the VAT treatment applied across the telecoms sector,” said a spokesperson for HMRC this morning. 

Lycamobile has confirmed that it accepts the tribunal decision, saying the ruling “takes us one step closer to resolution” and the company is “pleased that it found there should be an adjustment to the amount of VAT assessed in relation to some of the products.”  

Lyca will now work with HMRC to apply the ruling, though still has the option to appeal. 

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
AST SpaceMobile prepares to launch first commercial satellites
nexfibre passes almost 1.3m homes with full fibre
Telstra joins UNESCO’s Business Council to promote ethical AI

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

News

Punishing financial results are forcing the company to take “bold action”

Intel has this week revealed that it is laying off over 15,000 workers, saying it will cut 15% of its workforce in efforts to streamline the business.

The company says the cuts are part of a drive to save $10 billion in costs by 2025, which will be achieved through various streamlining measures and spending reductions. R&D and marketing spend will be cut by more than a billion dollars through to 2026, while capex this year will be reduced by 20%.

Announcing the cuts alongside the company’s latest financial results, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger described the decision as “incredibly hard”, saying the company is “making some of the most consequential changes in our company’s history”.

“Simply put, we must align our cost structure with our new operating model and fundamentally change the way we operate. Our revenues have not grown as expected – and we’ve yet to fully benefit from powerful trends, like AI. Our costs are too high, our margins are too low. We need bolder actions to address both – particularly given our financial results and outlook for the second half of 2024, which is tougher than previously expected,” read the memo.

Intel has been struggling to compete with rivals in the AI chip space, such as AMD and Nvidia, while also losing ground to the likes of Qualcomm and Apple, which rely on chips from Arm.

In its most recent quarterly results, Intel recorded a loss of $1.6 billion, compounding the $437 million it lost in the quarter before that. The losses can primarily be attributed to the company’s chipmaking Foundry business.

“Weaker spending across consumer and enterprise markets, especially in China, and continued focus on AI server investments in the cloud have reduced our [total addressable market] expectations for 2024,” explained CFO David Zinsner, adding that “customer inventory levels are elevated”.

Intel’s own foray into AI chips, Lunar Lake, is set to be released this September.

Keep up to date with all the latest telecoms news from around the world with Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
Australian Government and AWS Collaborate to Strengthen country’s Cybersecurity
Solving congestion challenges in FTTP deployment
Vodafone Invests £120m in AI Chatbot ‘SuperTOBi’

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Robert Bianco, Chief Commercial Officer of HYLAN

The data center construction landscape is shifting at an unprecedented pace, driven by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and its profound implications. AI integration is fundamentally reshaping the industry; necessitating expanded infrastructure and advanced design specifications to meet growing computational needs. … [visit site to read more]

Indian authorities have hit leading IT outsourcer Infosys with a US$3.9 billion tax demand – and some news reports suggest the pursuit of alleged unpaid taxes will soon target other big names.

According to the UK’s Financial Times the demand came as the Indian IT industry was showing early signs of recovery following a worldwide tech spending slowdown. Indeed, Infosys and other relevant players, like Tata Consultancy Services, posted buoyant quarterly earnings earlier in July. 

Infosys has apparently been issued notices for payment of goods and services tax (GST) by agencies in its home state of Karnataka and from the national Directorate General of GST Intelligence for the period of July 2017 to March 2022.

The tax demand relates to “expenses incurred by overseas branch offices”, says Infosys, whose headquarters, like those of a number of IT companies, are in the Karnataka capital Bengaluru. It does not agree that GST applies on these expenses.

Reuters, however, suggests Indian authorities may soon issue notices to more major IT services firms in an investigation of alleged tax evasion related to work done by their overseas offices. Reuters says these overseas offices carry out projects for Indian IT firms and provide services to international clients, among other functions.

This isn’t just about IT, however. In the last year, India’s GST department has sent more than 1,000 notices to companies, including Life Insurance Corporation of India, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Ultratech Cement.

Tax authorities have also issued notices to online gaming companies demanding a total of about 1 trillion rupees (about US$12 billion) in taxes that they have allegedly evaded. Many companies have challenged these demands in tribunals and courts.

This isn’t the first backdated tax claim from Indian officials, as Vodafone, a company that has successfully fought retrospective taxes, might point out.

As we reported at the end of the 14-year dispute, the Indian government decided to nullify its own tax demands against Vodafone, apparently to improve perceptions of its stance on taxation in order to encourage foreign investment into the market. But could the recent drive to pursue alleged unpaid taxes undermine this effort?

Three global expansion projects and one domestic FTTx buildout: … [visit site to read more]