Implementing NEIR without reform will monopolise mobile market, hurt consumers: Traders
We are not opposing the NEIR system, rather we demand an effective and secure system in the interest of national security, they said
The country's mobile phone market will become monopolised if the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) system is implemented without reforms, mobile phone traders warned, saying the move would ultimately hurt ordinary consumers.
The market will effectively fall under the control of a few companies, which will reduce competition and cause phone prices to rise abnormally, the traders said at a press conference held at the Bashundara City Shopping Complex Auditorium in Dhaka today (6 January).
Speaking at the conference, Mobile Business Community Bangladesh Acting General Secretary Md Faisal Azad said, "We are not opposing the NEIR system, rather we demand an effective and secure system in the interest of national security."
He warned that it would be difficult for students and youth to buy quality smartphones if NEIR is implemented without reform, reducing access to digital services.
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"Issues related to data security, market competition and consumer interests must be reformed before implementation," he added.
Traders alleged that earlier assurances from authorities regarding NEIR have not been honoured. They said that according to the new system, more than two crore mobile phones, which came as gifts from overseas from expatriates to family members, will become unusable, since NEIR registration process is lengthy and complicated.
It will also hurt the used mobile phone market as changing ownership of phones will become difficult, especially for low-income people and those from rural areas, curtailing the freedom of consumers, they added.
They further alleged that communicating with Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) over the matter did not bring about any effective discussions.
The traders warned that if competition decreases, the tendency for new phone models to enter the market will decline, and even if prices rise, there will be no effective mechanism to control them.
At the same time, complexities may also arise in recovering lost or stolen phones, they said.
