Shahid Bappy

Mobile phone users in Bangladesh incurred a loss of nearly Tk 18.50 crore in the fiscal year of 2020-21 because of the telecom operators’ reluctance to compensate them for the disruptions they faced during calls.

The telecom regulator plans to set new standard for 4G and broadband internet speed as part of its move to ensure much-needed faster digital connectivity for the users across the country.

Robi Axiata and Banglalink are in the final phase of negotiations to sell their towers in order to cut maintenance costs.

The telecom ministry has decided not to shut down the network of any mobile handset whatever or not it is registered with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.

Robi  Axiata Ltd and Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd were fined Tk  10 lakh each for providing telecom value-added service (TVAS) to  customers through unauthorised firms and attempting to dodge revenue.

Monday night’s six-hour Facebook outage hit thousands of F-commerce entrepreneurs in the country as they neither could promote their products nor make deals during that period.

The telecom regulator blocked 81,868 new handsets as of Saturday evening from connecting to mobile networks as the devices were not registered with the National Equipment Identity Register.

Illegal handsets will not get network connectivity from today as the government look to curb the menace of duty-dodging while importing mobile phones, which also undercuts the competitiveness of the locally assembled devices.

The government has initiated a move to award licences for submarine cable to the private sector with a view to attracting private investment to the telecommunication industry to support the growth in bandwidth consumption.

The Bangladesh Teleco-mmunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has set the limit on the import of mobile phones through air routes for personal use.

Md Nabid Rahman, employed at a private company in Dhaka, made a payment of Tk 12.5 lakh to e-commerce platform Dhamaka in March for two motorcycles and other products which were on offer at hefty discounts.

With the demand for food delivery through online purchase growing fast, the government is planning to frame a policy in order to streamline the business and protect interests of all the actors in the chain, including customers and suppliers.

The telecom regulatory commission will be shorn of whatever independence and powers it has if the government presses on with the planned amendment to Bangladesh Telecommunications Act.

A mobile phone user will not be able to get more than two SIM cards against his or her passport or driving licence or birth certificate, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has decided.

The number of broadband internet connections has surpassed the 1 crore mark in June for the first time as a vast number of people now rely on the internet due to the pandemic which propelled work from home practices and remote learning.

Mobile phone operators are seeking permission from the government to sell network-locked or fixed-SIM handsets at lower prices so that more people can afford smartphones and use 4G service.

Grameenphone retrenched 159 employees on Sunday after they refused to accept its voluntary retirement scheme (VRS).

The ICT Division will likely commence an IT audit on banks next month to measure their capability to thwart cyberattacks as growing digitalisation and remote working arrangements have augmented the financial sector’s exposure to online crimes.

The government is going to bolster the country’s expanding ICT sector with tax exemptions in six more services and VAT waiver on hardware manufacturing as it looks to prepare the nation for the fourth industrial revolution.

Mobile phone subscribers are still being flooded with promotional and commercial messages even a month after they opted to block them, which highlighted that the regulator’s directive to the carriers to stop the nuisance is not working.