Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in its latest crackdown on online gambling and betting has blocked 331 websites. On September 24, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said the government had permanently blocked 6,000 gambling sites. In a notice issued Monday, the telecom regulator BTRC said it also reported gambling and betting apps and links to Google, Facebook, and YouTube for blocking. Read BTRC: Compensation for call drops from Oct 1 "Google blocked 14 gambling-related apps in Bangladesh after receiving more than 150 complaints. The multinational technology company is taking steps to review the other complaints," the telecom watchdog said. The BTRC reported 27 links to Facebook and 69 to YouTube for gambling and betting lessons. The two social media giants blocked 17 links each and are reviewing the rest. Credit or debit cards are required to buy game chips. As it has become easier to get credit or debit cards in Bangladesh, many have turned to online gambling or betting. Taking advantage of this, criminal groups are siphoning off crores of taka from Bangladesh, the BTRC said. Read BTRC launches new unlimited data packages The country's laws do not allow gambling and betting in Bangladesh. However, completing registration through credit or debit cards or mobile financial services, many are getting involved in online gambling or betting through diverse apps or websites during domestic or international football, cricket, tennis, and other matches after.  Shutting down the gambling and betting websites in Bangladesh, BTRC aims to continue Bangladesh government's sucess in removing harmful contents from the virtual world.

Mobile phone users will have to be compensated for call drops from October 1. That's the curt message from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to telecom companies in this country. According to new BTRC guidelines issued on Monday, mobile phone operators will have to compensate their customers by refunding talk time for call drops with effect from October. Read: Govt has permanently blocked 22,000 porn sites and 6,000 gambling sites: Mustafa Jabbar The new guidelines were unveiled at a press briefing at the regulator's headquarters by BTRC chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder and Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar who was there as the chief guest. BTRC's New Guidelines: A customer can get information about the previous day/week/month's net call drop amount through common USSD code (*121*765#) -- applicable for all mobile phone operators -- from October 1. Mobile operators will compensate their subscribers with talk time of three pulses (30 seconds) for each call drop in case of 1st and 2nd call drops daily and four pulses (40 seconds) for each call drop in case of subsequent 3rd to 7th call drops as "financial and emotional loss." Read No more than 15 SIM cards under 1 NID: BTRC to deactivate extras Talk time refunded as compensation for call drops will be usable from the first call (00:00 hours) of the next day, which means no amount can be deducted from the customer's account for the call before the refunded talk time is fully utilised. The customer should be informed within the next 24 hours through SMSes about the talk time refunded as a result of call drops. An operator can refund the call minutes from that day of the occurrence of call drop if it wishes. A maximum period of 15 days will be applicable for the usage of the refunded talk time of the call drop. Read BTRC launches new unlimited data packages "If a customer receives a service by paying money, the operator should ensure proper service," Mustafa Jabbar said. “If telecom companies invest in telecommunications infrastructure rather than compensating customers, call drop rates will decrease,” he added.

The quality of Bangla content should be assured to facilitate the usage of the language in technology, said Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar. He was addressing the discussion "Use of Bangla in Technology" organised by telecom operator Robi in the capital Saturday. "We must ensure the technological advancement of language for the next generation. Through research and development, 16 tools are being developed for the enrichment of Bangla in information technology," he added. Read Mobile users to receive SMS-notifications in Bangla from telecom operators "Although Bangla is the seventh most populous language in the world, it is not even ranked among the top 40 languages used on the internet. To reach out to people at all levels over the internet, the use of Bangla language needs to be increased," BTRC Director General Brigadier General Nasim Parvez said. Shihab Ahmed, chief commercial officer of Robi, said, "We must move away from our reliance on entertainment-based content to practical content. Also, we will have to ensure that content is available through Bangla language search." "We need to ensure the availability of Bangla terminologies on the internet," Telecom Reporters' Network Bangladesh President Rashed Mehedi said. Read Don’t neglect mother tongue while learning other languages: PM Muhammad Khan, founder and editor of techshohor.com, said: "Satisfaction over the use of Bengali language in technology is not more than 50 percent. To make progress in this area, more government actions are needed." "Steps should be taken to enable expatriates to communicate with the government of the host country in Bangla."