Tangled mess of overhead cables blemishes Dhaka skyline a decade after court order

Not even in a decade after a court order have the agencies been able to pull down the ugly, tangled aerial web of wires crisscrossing the Dhaka skyline.

A disconnect between the service providers has been blamed for the electricity, phone, internet and television cables hanging from the power poles, often bunched together like a mad person’s hairdo.

Operators under the Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network are supposed to provide internet and cable TV services through underground cables.

But they have hung the wires on the electric poles and install the cables within a few hours of their being removed from a site.

Most of the Dhaka streets have overhead cables entangled in a hazardous way posing a threat to the city residents.

Sometimes they cause fire incidents or other fatal or serious accidents and hinder fire engines. The internet, telephone and cable TV wires tangled with high-voltage electric cables should have been removed, according to a court order, but the service providers never followed it.

A cobweb of internet and TV cables next to Dhaka Stock Exchange in Motijheel. Dhaka South City Corporation has promised to free the part of the capital from such tangled wires within December, 2020. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

A mobile court of Dhaka South City Corporation has been taking down the cables since Aug 5. The DSCC drive caused them a financial loss of more than Tk 100 million, said the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh.

They reinstall the cables within a few hours after those are removed, inconveniencing the customers for that period.

According to the rules, they have to rent the cable from the NTTN to run their business, Aminul Hakim, the president of ISPAB told bdnews24.com.

They are 'forced' to install the cables to provide connection to the households as the local distribution points are not very close.

From Gulshan 1 to Gulshan 2, only four termination points or local distribution points of International Internet Gateway operator Fiber@Home are available.

“So, we have to hang cables to keep our customers connected. If the points were available after every three houses, we would never need to install the cables," Hakim said.

Dhaka city has around 4.5 million broadband internet customers with more than half of them residing in DSCC areas, said Emdadul Hoque, the general secretary of ISPAB.

The authorities sometimes remove the overhead cables only for the service providers to install those again to serve the customers. The capital can only be saved from the overhead cable menace by taking a long-term plan, he said.

They are forced to install the cables on the electric poles as the NTTN has not laid any infrastructure up until now, said Anwar Parvez, the founder president of the Cable Operator Association of Bangladesh or COAB.

"We lost millions when we had to reinstall cables after removal in Dhaka South."

The NTTN member organisations dismissed the claim of the infrastructure being absent. They say it is rather the broadband service providers “taking no interest” in putting the existing infrastructure to good use.

"The allegation raised by the ISPs is incorrect as we have already provided the connection to the households in Gulshan, Banani, Mohakhali, DOHS, Motijheel, Karwan Bazar and Niketan," Abbas Farook, the head of public relations and government affairs officer at Fiber@Home, told bdnews24.com.

"Also, there are many points adjacent to the main roads in the city and they don't need to install additional cables while using those. There would have been no problem if they had opted for the NTTN services from the beginning."

"A good number of LDPs exist on both sides of the main streets in Dhaka. The problem is that many service providers do not use them. The NTTN licence clause does not obligate us to ensure connection to the houses, but we're doing that. The ISPs, on the other hand, are not taking the services," said Arif Al Islam, the chief executive of Summit Communications.

A “sudden drive” will not resolve the issue; a long-term planning is what is required, he said.

DSCC Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh is currently overseeing a drive to remove the cables from Bangabazar to Fulbaria and some other neighbourhoods.

Dhaka North City Corporation began a similar drive on Thursday. The task will be easier with a coordinated approach to ensure that the customers do not suffer, according to DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam.

"I spoke to everyone as I don't want the people to suffer. I want to make it a sustainable process," he said.

"We are installing ducting pipes under the pavements we're repairing now. Cable operators can take the wires through them. They will have to pay us a monthly or annual fee for it.

"We're also exploring the options for the areas where we can't install a ducting pipe. The overhead cables must be removed no matter what," the mayor said.

A cobweb of internet and TV cables next to Dhaka Stock Exchange in Motijheel. Dhaka South City Corporation has promised to free the part of the capital from such tangled wires within December, 2020. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

Each of the ISPs will have to pay the city corporation an annual fee of Tk 2.5 million for the underground cable service, something they cannot afford, said ISPAB President Hakim citing DSCC authorities.

In an email response to bdnews24.com queries, Mayor Taposh said the ISPs must apply to the DSCC for the underground cable services and run their business after approval.

"Our goal is to develop the Dhaka city. Unfortunately, the city skyline is filled with cables. We're removing the illegal cables every day through a mobile court. We want to present a clean Dhaka to its people by December."

Be it a student or a professional, everyone has become dependent on the internet amid the pandemic. Therefore, internet connections disrupted for long are causing a big trouble, many users complained.

It is not true that children's regular education is hampered due to the removal of cables, said the DSCC mayor.

Internet data pack is quite cheap in the country, he pointed out, more than 30GB data is available at Tk 500.

At many places, cables are reinstalled in a few hours of their removal.

Tangled internet and TV connection cables hang overhead in Dhaka’s Gulshan-2 area. Photo: Abdullah Al Momin

"Now we're only removing the illegal cables, but not taking any punitive measures. But if they continue to reinstall the cables, we will adopt stringent measures," Mayor Taposh said on the issue.

In 2009, it was decided that all cables will be moved underground in a bid to free the city from the trouble. The Power Division also took an initiative in 2010 to remove the cables. A meeting was held with all stakeholders at that time but it yielded no result.

The authorities took some initiatives this year to remove the dangling cables in the city, but the pandemic has put the brakes on the moves, Power Secretary Sultan Ahmed told bdnews24.com.

Dhaka Power Distribution Company is implementing a Tk 205 billion project financed by China to remove the traditional poles in the residential and commercial areas in Dhaka. Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited or DESCO was also supposed to implement a similar project.

"In some neighbourhoods, we have removed the cables dangling from above. We're discussing with those service providers how to take the cables underground. Our work has stopped now due to the pandemic. But we'll meet them soon again," DPDC Managing Director Bikash Dewan said.

"A project is starting to move the DPDC cables from Jahangir Gate to the Bangabhaban underground. We've asked the ISPs and other service providers to get on board," he said.

DESCO has chosen five neighbourhoods in Dhaka to remove the illegal cables, said Mafizuddin, an engineer at the utility. It has removed some cables at Mohakhali DOHS and Niketan.

"Things are different now as many service providers have reinstalled them in order to provide an uninterrupted internet service amid the pandemic," he said.