Telcos fined Tk 7.65cr for illegal VoIP
The telecom regulator has recently fined four mobile network operators Tk 7.65 crore as their SIMs were found with equipment confiscated for the use of illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) fined state-run Teletalk Tk 5 crore, Robi Axiata Tk 2 crore, Grameenphone Tk 50 lakh, and Banglalink Tk 15 lakh.
The commission sent letters to the operators on June 7 and asked them to clear the penalty by June 30.
According to the sources at the BTRC, the law enforcement agencies during raids in collaboration with the telecom regulator seized 52,344 SIM cards of different operators along with VoIP equipment from different parts of Bangladesh in 2018 and 2019.
Initially, the amount of the fine was Tk 26.6 crore.
Later, the commission conducted hearings in April this year and slashed the amount after revisions based on the operators' application.
According to a BTRC official, the commission instructed the operators to take necessary measures so that no SIM is found involved in illegal VoIP activities.
For the presence of mobile connections with the illegal VoIP equipment, a fine of Tk 5,000 was set to be charged against every SIM, which was later increased to Tk 10,000.
The operators can find out, through their systems and logic, whether SIMs are being used in illegal VoIP activities and they can bar the connections. But the operators have not taken prompt action to bar them.
"We have fined the operators as part of our duty as a regulator since their SIMs were found in the illegal VoIP equipment," Shyam Sunder Sikder, chairman of the BTRC, told The Daily Star.
The highest number of confiscated SIMs, 32,845, was of Teletalk and the operator was initially fined Tk 17.73 crore.
Md Shahab Uddin, managing director of Teletalk, said the operator was yet to receive any copy of the letter.
"We had submitted our statement to the BTRC during the hearing. We will appeal once again to the BTRC for the revision after obtaining the commission's letter."
Robi Axiata initially was fined Tk 7.55 crore, which was later slashed to Tk 2 crore.
Officials of Robi also said they have not yet received any such letter.
Grameenphone was slapped with a fine of Tk 99 lakh, but the amount was later reduced to Tk 50 lakh. The biggest mobile phone operator did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Banglalink also did not want to immediately comment on the fine, which was initially set at Tk 33 lakh and later slashed to Tk 15 lakh.
Earlier, Telecom Minister Mustafa Jabbar said illegal VoIP hampers the state's revenue collection and hurts the telecom sector as well.
"So, actions taken against such activities are justified," he told The Daily Star.