Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has earlier directed all private operators to sign interconnection agreement with Teletalk by tomorrow.

Telekom Malaysia International Bangladesh, the service provider of AKTEL and Pacific Bangladesh Telecommunication Limited, which operates the brand CityCell, have so far signed the deal.

GrameenPhone, the country's largest operator in terms of subscribers, is in the process of signing the agreement, an official told The Daily Star last night.

Sheba Telecom, which operates under the brand Banglalink, is also in the process of signing interconnection deal with Teletalk, officials said.

The BTRC at a meeting with high officials of all the five cellphone operators last week directed to sign interconnection agreement as per the interconnection regulation 2004.

Teletalk subscribers will enjoy congestion free call facilities once all the four private operators signed the interconnection deals.

The private operators had earlier refused to sign the agreement, as a few legal matters are pending regarding the legality of Teletalk's licence transfer. They had sought guarantee from the government in case of any decisions of the legal disputes.

Until yesterday, Teletalk had only test interconnectivity with the four private operators that created enormous congestion at subscribers' end.

Teletalk Managing Director Md Obaidullah had earlier told The Daily Star the network connectivity will improve greatly following signing of the agreement.

Teletalk also signed interconnectivity agreement with state-owned fixed phone operator Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) last week.

The state-run cellphone operator has recently become the most preferred one due to its free incoming facility with 80,000 subscribers until yesterday.