Cyclone Mocha is likely to hit the coastal areas of Bangladesh, especially Chattogram, Teknaf and Cox's Bazar, on Sunday (May 14, 2023). The Department of Posts and Telecommunications has already instructed all the subordinate agencies, including the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, to complete necessary preparations to ensure that all types of telecommunications services continue during the disaster and post-disaster period to deal with the cyclone, according to a press release. The BTRC has also directed all the licensees concerned and all telecom operators providing telecommunication services to form emergency response teams and set up control rooms on Saturday. Read More: This is how Cyclone Mocha was named, plus all you need to know A 10-member emergency response team has been formed by the BTRC. The team will take measures in coordination with the telecom operators to ensure uninterrupted service, including round-the-clock monitoring of the telecommunications service system in the cyclone-affected areas, and will continue close contact with the concerned district and upazila administrations. Besides, the BTRC has also started a control room with three members. The two control room numbers are 01552202854 and 01552202886. The BTRC control room is coordinating between the monitoring team formed by the BTRC and how the licensees working in the coastal areas are working to deal with the Mocha. Besides, mobile operators, NTTNs, ISPs and other licensed officials concerned are taking necessary measures to inform the control room if they face any problem in taking action in the coastal areas, said the release. Read More: Cyclone Mocha may cross Cox’s Bazar between 9am and 3pm today, no possibility of turning into super cyclonic storm: BMD In view of the BTRC directive, the telecom operators have set up control rooms in their respective offices to ensure uninterrupted telecommunication services in the coastal areas and surrounding areas and adequate batteries, diesel generators, portable generators and additional vehicles have been arranged to travel during the disaster to ensure power backup to keep their network system active. Mobile operator Grameenphone has taken the initiative to provide special packages to provide free telecommunication services to the people of cyclone-affected areas. Grameenphone's emergency contact numbers are 01711505368, 0171108110101, 01711081804. Banglalink has said that special measures will be taken to make it easier to recharge mobile phones along with text messages and social media campaigns to make people aware of the cyclone situation. Banglalink's emergency contact numbers are 0196244565, 01911310795, 01962424706. Read More: Cyclone Mocha starts crossing Cox’s Bazar with speed of up to 215 kmph: BMD Robi customers will get emergency balance, minutes and internet by dialing *8# at any time. Robi's hotline number is 0181718368, 01819210350 Teletalk has taken steps to ensure commercial power supply along with adequate fuel supply by removing mechanical defects of all generators to ensure power supply at core site and hub site. Besides, a response team has been formed and a control room has been set up. Emergency Response Team Numbers- 01550155045, 015505155034, 0155015053. Control Room Number-02333315900, 0155515211. Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL) has opened a control room to deal with the problem. The contact number of the control room is 0248317788. Read More: Cyclone Preparedness: Safety measures to follow before, during and after disaster The emergency contact number of the tower construction company edotco-, 01871006730. The summit's emergency contact number is 01791040385, 01711080484. Kirtankhola's emergency contact number is 01401159572 (Chattogram and Cox's Bazar) 01713479912 (Barisal). Frontier's Emergency Contact Number- 01810169540, 01810169548. ISPs, NTTNs and other telecom operators have taken steps and are constantly trying to keep their networks active in the areas likely to hit the cyclone during the disaster.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Grameenphone , Robi and Banglalink to pay dues of Tk 2500 crore as their spectrum acquisition fee including VAT to the government, National Board of Revenue and Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC). A five-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order after rejecting their petition challenging the High Court order that had rejected their writ petition against imposing VAT (value added tax) on spectrum acquisition fee. Read more: Mobile operators must increase spectrum by December to provide better services to customers Of the total amount, Grameenphone has been asked to pay Tk 1,400 crore, Robi Tk 500 crore and Banglalink Tk 650 crore. Attorney General AM Amin Uddin represented the state while Barrister Reza-e-Rakib and Barrister Mostafizur Rahman Khan stood for BTRC and mobile companies, respectively. Talking to reporters, Attorney General Amin said the government has allocated spectrum for the three mobile operators and fixed charges on it. VAT (value added tax) was also added later by the government on the spectrum fee. The three mobile operators filed a writ petition challenging the VAT which was rejected by the High Court. Read more: BTRC's spectrum auction: Govt earns revenue of Tk 10,645 crore Later, they filed petitions to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court challenging the High court order which was also rejected, he said.  Now, NBR and BTRC will realise the money as dues including charges and VAT from the three mobile operators.

Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL), a state-owned telecommunications infrastructure agency, made a hefty Tk 250 crore profit on earnings of Tk 441.74 crore in the 2021-22 fiscal. The information was made public by the company’s Managing Director (MD) Md Azam Ali through an event held at the capital's Hotel Intercontinental on Saturday, at which Post and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar was the chief guest. Speaking as chief guest, Jabbar stressed the need to turn BSCCL into a 'technologically competent institution' to meet the needs of the hour. “Submarine cable is a critical telecommunications infrastructure of the country. As a public company, BSCCL has a role to play for the country and its people. Providing affordable internet services is one of these roles,” said Jabbar. Stating the difference between the price of bandwidth in 2008 and now, Jabbar added that the government has been able to reduce bandwidth price to a great extent in the intervening years. “In 2008, each mbps bandwidth used to cost Tk 27,000, which has now come down to only Tk 240. In FY2017-18, BSCCL earned only Tk 1.4 crore as revenue, which has now surpassed Tk 400 crore. The government is working to provide high speed internet to each and every corner of the country following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s pledge of a Digital Bangladesh,” Jabbar added. Mohammad Khalilur Rahman, Chairman of BSCCL and Posts and Telecommunications Secretary, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Vice Chairman of Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and Habibur Rahman, MD of Teletalk, among others, were present at the event.

After indefinitely suspending new Grameenphone SIM card sale, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) now says the telecom operator cannot sell old SIM cards either. BTRC Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder made the announcement at a programme held at BTRC building on Sunday (November 06, 2022). He said BTRC's approval to Grameenphone for selling 13 lakh old SIM cards has been suspended today. Read more: Mustafa Jabbar directs Grameenphone to ensure quality service On June 29, 2022, BTRC placed an indefinite suspension on new Grameenphone SIM card sale due to the operator’s “failure to provide quality service”. BTRC imposed the indefinite suspension on Grameenphone as it is not providing quality service to its users despite repeatedly being asked to do so, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar told UNB at the time. “The telecom company has no intention to provide quality service, as it is not doing anything to fix the problems that its subscribers are facing,” he said. Read more: Q3 2022: Grameenphone reports 6% revenue growth despite ban on SIM sales

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.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is going to deactivate additional SIM (subscriber identity module) cards of those who have more than 15 registered under a national identity (NID) card soon. As per the recent BTRC decision, a subscriber is allowed to register maximum 15 SIM cards against his/her NID, BTRC Vice Chairman Subrata Roy Maitra told UNB today. Read:BTRC places indefinite suspension on GP SIM card sale Additional SIM cards are registered against one NID – analogue and digital, he said. The telecom regulator has urged subscribers to deactivate additional SIM cards against one NID from the respective customer care centres. Read: BTRC launches new unlimited data packages Besides, BTRC is collecting data of such SIM cards registered with one NID to take action. On June 20, 2016, BTRC decided that 20 SIM cards can be registered against one NID card and later it reduced the number to five on August, 2017. On October 24, 2017, the commission revised its decision and set the number at 15.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Sunday introduced four new internet packages in a bid to ensure uninterrupted and hassle-free internet for Grameenphone and Teletalk users.Under the unlimited package, Grameenphone is offering 40GB data at Tk1,199 and 15GB data at Tk549 while Teletalk 26GB at Tk309 and 6GB at Tk127, said a press release. Read: 80% of travel market remains unexplored: PalakOther operators will also introduce new unlimited data packages in phases, it added.Earlier on April 28, BTRC launched the highly anticipated unlimited internet data packs without any validity expiration for the first time. Read BTRC receives Tk 2.78 crore fines from three mobile operators

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission realised Tk 2.78 crore as fines from three mobile phone operators of the country over the allegations of operating illegal VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). A total of Tk 2,78,25,000 fine have been collected from  Robi, Grameenphone and Banglalink, said BTRC in a press release on Thursday. Also read: BTRC places indefinite suspension on GP SIM card sale Robi paid Tk 2.10 crore, Grameenphone Tk 52.5 lakh and Banglalink Tk15.75 lakh between July 12 to 14. On April 10, the operators were asked to pay the fines after a hearing by the commission under sub-section 5 of section 65 of Bangladesh Telecommunication Act,2001, over the use of SIM (subscriber identity module) used in illegal VoIPs . Also read: BTRC fines 4 mobile operators Tk 7.65 crore

The telecom regulator has placed an indefinite suspension on the SIM card sale of Grameenphone for the operator's failure to provide quality service. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) imposed an indefinite suspension on Grameenphone as it is not providing quality service to its users despite repeatedly being asked to do so, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar told UNB Wednesday. Also Read: 5G internet within December: BTRC "The telecom company has no intention to provide quality service, as it is not doing anything to fix the problems that its subscribers are facing," he added. "The BTRC placed the sale of Grameenphone SIM cards on indefinite suspension as we do not want new uses to face the same problems."