Govt announces reward for info on illegal VoIP
The government will reward people for providing information on illegal voice over internet protocol (VoIP) activities. A circular issued yesterday by the Post and Telecommunication Division says rewards up to Tk 100,000 will be given to persons providing information about those running illegal VoIP or international call termination operations. Rewards up to Tk 100,000 will be given on information verified up on proper investigations, reads the circular.
The information may be given directly to the telecommunications secretary or to the chief of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), said the circular. The identities of those providing information will not be disclosed, it added.
The IGW Operators Forum (IOF) has also declared rewards of up to Tk 500,000 for information on VoIP operations and ran an advertisement in newspapers last Thursday. State Minister Tarana Halim sat with the Post and Telecommunication Division and the BTRC following the IOF announcement and later it was decided to announce the reward, said sources. BTRC data show legal international calls have recently dropped by roughly 20 million minutes a day, to 90-95 million minutes. In September 17, 2014, the regulatory body revised the tariff-sharing deal with gateways alongside cutting down incoming call termination rates. The minimum per minute rate was halved to 1.5 cents.
According to the revised tariff-sharing deal, the BTRC would retain 40 per cent of the earnings, the IGWs will get 20 per cent and Inter Connection Exchanges (ICX) would get 17.5 per cent while Access Network Services (ANS) would get 22.5 per cent.
