Bangladesh’s telecoms regulator has fined operators all four major operators BDT76.5 million ($US823,000) for enabling illegal VoIP activities on SIM cards.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has set a June 30 deadline for all four operators to clear the fine which varies from operator to operator, reported The Daily Star.
NTRC fined Banglalink BDT1.5 million, Grameenphone BDT5 million, Robi Axiata BDT20 million, and state-owned Teletalk BDT50 million.
The regulator accused the operators of being able to monitor and cease illegal VoIP activities but took no action to cease them.
The BTRC with law enforcement raided the operators, seizing 52,344 SIM cards and VoIP equipment across the country in 2018 and 2019, initially fining them BDT266 million.
This was reduced at a hearing this April as the operators pledged to crackdown on SIM cards tapping into illegal VoIP calls. Such calls avoid termination fees which governments tax, telecom minister Mustafa Jabbar said illegal VoIP affects government coffers and overall damages the telecoms sector, reported The Daily Star.
Teletalk is planning to appeal the latest fine.
