SIM re-registration
Telcos apply for access to NID database
After the Election Commission (EC) refused to verify telecom subscribers information without any agreement, yesterday all six mobile phone operators have applied for permission to gain access to the National Identification (NID) Database.
Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) secretary TIM Nurul Kabir yesterday told The Independent that all the six operators have sought access to NID Database. Although the EC said Banglalink, Citycell and Airtel had sent their applications beforehand, decision was yet to be made on the matter.
The matter had come up for discussion during a meeting between the state minister for post and telecommunications, Tarana Halim, and the CEOs of the six mobile phone operators on Thursday. It was decided that the verification would be carried out by the NID authority. In accordance with the decision, all the operators have started providing their details to the poll panel.
Following that the operators started submitting subscribers information and documents to the EC.
This is an ongoing process, and everyday more and more information will be provided by the operators, Kabir said.
Tarana Halim told The Independent that the entire process would progress significantly within three months.
According to a report by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), there were 12.87 crore subscribers in the country till July 2015.
EC Secretary Sirajul Islam said one would have to sign a bilateral agreement with the poll panel in order to get information from the NID
database. No one would be able to access the information without the MoU, he added.
To get the information, every operator would have to pay Tk 5 lakh, as one time fee, in advance and then Tk 2 for crosschecking information each time.
At present, the central bank, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the passports department and two private banks subscribe to the verification service provided by the EC.
Brig. Gen. Sultanuzzaman Md Saleh Uddin, director general of the ECs National Identification Registration Wing, also said there would be no verification without the bilateral contracts. However, verification of bulk data will start soon, he added.
As for those who have applied for the bilateral pact, I will put the whole matter before the EC for its consideration. The poll panel has already given permission for online verification. There will be no exception to that, he said.
EC sources said there were 9.62 crore voters in the country, but according to the BTRC, there are around 13 crore subscribers. This is because many people have more than one SIM, and even many persons below the age of 18 possess mobile connection(s). Also, there were more than 1 lakh SIMs before 2012 that were not even registered, they added.
