BTRC fines four mobile operators over illegal VoIP-linked SIMs

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has fined four mobile operators a combined Tk8.21 crore after identifying 8,380 SIM cards allegedly used in illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) operations, citing failures to implement mandatory self-regulation and telecom fraud management measures.

Robi Axiata received the largest penalty of Tk5.91 crore for 5,907 SIMs, followed by Banglalink with Tk1.86 crore for 1,859 SIMs. State-owned Teletalk was fined Tk45 lakh for 450 SIMs, while Grameenphone received the lowest penalty of Tk18.4 lakh for 164 SIMs.

The penalties followed raids conducted by the BTRC and the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) in Chattogram and Cumilla in April, a BTRC official familiar with the matter said.

The operators were fined Tk10,000 per SIM under BTRC guidelines and have been given 10 working days from Thursday to pay.

In separate notices, the regulator said the operators had failed to effectively operate mandatory self-regulatory and telecom fraud management systems to prevent illegal calls from being routed through their networks. 

A BTRC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the failures violated the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act, the Cellular Mobile Services Guidelines and licence conditions. The identified SIMs were verified before the notices were issued.

Responding to the penalty, Grameenphone said it operates in compliance with the country's laws and BTRC directives. Head of Communications Sharfuddin Ahmed Chowdhury said that customer registration is conducted through mandatory biometric verification, and the operator follows all BTRC-prescribed self-regulatory measures to prevent fraudulent VoIP use. 

However, he said customers who misuse legally registered SIMs should also be held accountable, adding that discussions with the regulator are ongoing.

Robi's Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer Barrister Shahed Alam said the operator has not yet received any formal letter or notice from the BTRC and disputed the figures reported in the media.

He said more than 95% of the SIMs cited had already been barred from the network, adding that imposing any decision without giving Robi an opportunity to defend itself would violate the regulator's own rules. He also reaffirmed the company's strict compliance with all BTRC regulations and measures to prevent illegal VoIP activities.

Towhid Ahmed, Head of Corporate Communications, Banglalink, said, "Banglalink has consistently taken all reasonable and necessary measures to prevent the misuse of its SIMs and has worked closely with all concerned authorities to combat illegal VoIP call termination. In this case, the overwhelming majority of the SIMs identified by the BTRC had already been detected and deactivated through Banglalink's robust self-regulatory mechanisms before any regulatory: law enforcement authorities action. Imposing a penalty despite such proactive and effective actions and compliance efforts is unwarranted and undermines the very principle of encouraging responsible self-regulation and constructive regulatory cooperation."

"Banglalink remains fully committed to supporting the regulator's efforts to combat illegal activities and is confident that, upon a fair and objective review of the facts and hearing Banglalink the demand will be withdrawn," he added.

While VoIP is a legitimate technology for transmitting voice calls over the internet, illegal operators bypass authorised international gateways (IGWs) by routing international calls into Bangladesh through SIM boxes loaded with local SIM cards. 

The calls are converted into local mobile calls, so recipients often see a local mobile number instead of an international one, allowing operators to evade international termination fees and taxes and causing revenue losses to the government.

Mobile operators have faced similar enforcement action in the past. The BTRC and law enforcement agencies regularly conduct raids to seize SIM cards, SIM boxes and other equipment used in unauthorised call routing.