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

Grameenphone would be the greatest beneficiary if call rates of all mobile operators are set uniformly. Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar said this in Parliament on Tuesday. Also read: Mobile operators owe Tk 13,068 cr to government, Jabbar tells JS “Customers would be attracted to Grameenphone if call rates of all operators are set uniformly,” Jabbar said. Replying to a question from ruling Awami League MP Nur Uddin Chowdhury, he said based on the number of subscribers, Grameenphone has a market share of 45.95 percent. Robi has 29.45 percent, Banglalink 20.85 percent and Teletalk 3.7 percent. The minister said as Grameenphone has a large market share, setting the same call rate for all operators will encourage the customers from other operators to shift to Grameenphone services. “As a result, its market share is likely to increase further. In this case, the market position of small operators will be hampered,” he said. In response to a supplementary question from Syed Abu Hossain of the Jatiya Party, Mustafa Jabbar said that the problem of call drop and network on mobile phones is a big crisis all over the country. “There is no one in the country who has not been the victim of a call drop. Besides, the mobile network is also not available in many places,” he said. He said the number of subscribers of phone operating companies has increased a lot. Grameenphone has more than 8 crore subscribers, and Robi has more than 5 crore subscribers. He said that the operators did not take even one-third of the required spectrum for their customer bases. Also read: Bangladesh's mobile network coverage reached 98.5% by 2021: Jabbar “Under pressure of the government, they increased the amount of spectrum last March. The problem will be solved if this wave is fully expanded by next December. If the companies do not fully expand the wave within this period, there is an opportunity to take action and impose fines against them,” the minister said. Replying to another supplementary question, he expressed hope that Teletalk's network would be expanded across the country by 2023. The minister called upon all to become subscribers of the state-owned mobile operator.

Country’s mobile operators owe a total Tk 13,068 crore to the government, Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar said in Parliament on Tuesday. In reply to a query from Jatiya Party MP Syed Abu Hossain Babla, the minister said, of the total amount, Grameenphone owes Tk 10,580 crore and state-owned Teletalk owes Tk 1,631 crore to the government. Also read: Bill seeking special retirement allowance for chief justice placed in Parliament The minister said the amount of Grameenphone's audit objection is around Tk 12,579 crore. Of this, Tk 2,000 crore has been paid and the amount of arrears is around Tk 10,579.94 crore. The minister said the amount of Robi Axiata’s audit objection is around Tk 867.23 crore. Of this, Tk 138 crore has been paid and the amount of arrear is around Tk 729 crore, he added. The minister also informed the House that Pacific Bangladesh Telecom (Citycell) owes around Tk 128 crore and state-run Teletalk owes Tk 1,631.17 crore to the government. The minister also said that cases were pending in the Supreme Court over the arrears of Grameenphone, Robi and Citycell. In reply to an another query from Awami League lawmaker Nazrul Islam Babu, Mustafa Jabbar said in 2012, there were 8.66 crore mobile subscribers in the country and the number has increased to over 18.34 crore in 2022. Mustafa Jabbar also told the House that at present the number of 3G subscribers is 3.19 while the number of 4G subscribers is 7.54 crore. Also read: Parliamentary committee gets 2 more months to review media employees bill The minister further said that the number of internet subscribers in 2012 was 2.89 crore and now (2022) it has increased to 12.42 crore. He also said in 2012, the teledensity in the country was 60.9 percent and now the teledensity is 105.85 percent. Mustafa Jabbar also informed the House that the internet density in 2012 was 19.99 percent and now it has increased to 71.57 percent.

The Information Ministry on Thursday sought explanation over the  uncensored content of web series and other genres that are published on largely unregulated internet platforms, from the two leading mobile operators Robi and Grameenphone (GP) within seven days.

The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) on Tuesday called upon the government for revision of supplementary duty on mobile services in the proposed budget and reform of telecom tax policy.

The mobile networks, which were blocked in frontier areas of the country for security reasons, have been restored on Tuesday night.