Why gag voice calls that are legal?
We are bewildered by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's announcement that it is going to develop guidelines for using communication applications like WhatsApp, Viber, WeChat and Imo, which have allowed people to make calls for free as long as there was Internet connection. The use of these applications is a global phenomenon which has taken the digital age to a whole new level. The introduction of these applications in Bangladesh has revolutionised the way we communicate with others. It is particularly useful for those who travel as the free wifi connection in most international airports allows people to make international calls for free. For many it is the best way to keep in touch with loved ones abroad and the benefits are enjoyed by people from all cross sections of society. The sudden interest in charging for such calls by the BTRC is rather strange and is completely contradictory to the government's vision of digital Bangladesh.
The reasoning that these apps have significantly reduced the number of regular international calls through legal channels, (which of course translates to reduction in revenue though this was not spelt out) is flawed. First of all, users are either paying for Internet use on their phones or wifi connections so imposing additional costs on them for making phone calls is ridiculous. Secondly, lumping these applications with illegal VoIP is erroneous as the latter is done by circumventing the legal channels while the former is a part of Internet packages which is paid for and hence legal.
The government is supposed to facilitate communications for the public as much as possible. Trying to discourage innovative digital applications that are perfectly legitimate will be a setback for the goal of digitalisation.
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