The BTRC in a letter has recently asked 17 PSTN operators, who got licences in 2004 under an open licensing system, to start functioning considering the country's low tele-density.

Tele-density in Bangladesh is less than two percent, BTRC officials said quoting a report by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN special agency on telecoms.

The BTRC had allocated frequency spectrum to 19 PSTN operators one year ago, but only two of them -- RanksTel and Bay Phones -- have started operation in Chittagong zone.

All the operators were allocated frequencies in August last year, but the delaying by most of them has irked the commission, the officials said.

They said pressure on the PSTN operators to begin their operation has been intensified after Omar Farooq took over as the commission chairman.

The commission has issued 35 licences to 19 companies in four out of five zones -- central, southeast, southwest, northeast and northwest -- to provide PSTN service.

The central zone or Dhaka multi-exchange area has been kept out of the open licensing system due to a legal dispute with WorldTel, a UK-based company.

WorldTel obtained licence in 2001 to provide around three lakh connections in the city on built-own-operate basis for four years with co-exclusive rights with the state-run Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB).

The PSTN operators however said most of them are now building their network and expect to provide services by the yearend or early next year.