SIM re-registration

NID server hangs in last-minute pressure

Last-minute biometric SIM re-registration proved to be a source of sheer harassment for over 4 lakh subscribers yesterday. The NID server hung, possibly due to the overload. From 4pm to 6pm, subscribers were seen waiting in serpentine queues at various service points and re-registration centres across the country. At the Farmgate Grameenphone centre, subscribers faced trouble getting the biometric matching confirmation from the NID server. Ali Azam, one of the subscribers, grumbled, “Our suffering seems to be endless. I really don’t understand what the problem with the NID server is.” It was the same scenario at all centres of Robi, Airtel, and Banglalink. Until 6pm yesterday, GP’s 107,000 subscribers, 100,000 of Robi, Airtel’s 55,000 and Banglalink’s 90,000 subscribers were waiting to see whether their SIMs had been verified. Representatives of the six operators held a meeting about technical issues with the Election Commission (EC), but the problem persisted. Today is the last day for the SIM re-registration.
According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), 8 million subscribers had completed their registration till yesterday. This included 67 per cent of Grameenphone, 60 per cent of Banglalink, and 50 per cent of Robi subscribers. The total number of mobile phone subscribers till March 2016 was estimated to be more than 13 crore. Grameenphone’s chief corporate officer, Mahmud Hossain, said, “We are trying to complete customer registration as soon as possible. Thirty per cent of customers are yet to re-register. They need more time to do it.” All mobile operators have proposed a two-month extension for the re-registration. It is likely that the government will accept it. Minister for posts and telecommunications Tarana Halim told The Independent that she would announce whether there would be an extension. However, all unregistered SIMs would be deactivated for an hour on May 1, she added. Telecom secretary Faizur Rahman Chowdhury said since nearly a quarter of a million customers has completed the biometric SIM registration, some extra time might be granted to the rest. Till 7pm yesterday, Grameenphone had a severe delay in the process, and the verification requests of 200,000 subscribers of Banglalink, 150,000 of Robi, 60,000 of Airtel, and 38,000 of Teletalk were waiting for the EC server to respond.

SIM re-registration

NID server hangs in last-minute pressure

Last-minute biometric SIM re-registration proved to be a source of sheer harassment for over 4 lakh subscribers yesterday. The NID server hung, possibly due to the overload. From 4pm to 6pm, subscribers were seen waiting in serpentine queues at various service points and re-registration centres across the country. At the Farmgate Grameenphone centre, subscribers faced trouble getting the biometric matching confirmation from the NID server. Ali Azam, one of the subscribers, grumbled, Our suffering seems to be endless. I really dont understand what the problem with the NID server is. It was the same scenario at all centres of Robi, Airtel, and Banglalink. Until 6pm yesterday, GPs 107,000 subscribers, 100,000 of Robi, Airtels 55,000 and Banglalinks 90,000 subscribers were waiting to see whether their SIMs had been verified. Representatives of the six operators held a meeting about technical issues with the Election Commission (EC), but the problem persisted. Today is the last day for the SIM re-registration. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), 8 million subscribers had completed their registration till yesterday. This included 67 per cent of Grameenphone, 60 per cent of Banglalink, and 50 per cent of Robi subscribers. The total number of mobile phone subscribers till March 2016 was estimated to be more than 13 crore. Grameenphones chief corporate officer, Mahmud Hossain, said, We are trying to complete customer registration as soon as possible. Thirty per cent of customers are yet to re-register. They need more time to do it. All mobile operators have proposed a two-month extension for the re-registration. It is likely that the government will accept it. Minister for posts and telecommunications Tarana Halim told The Independent that she would announce whether there would be an extension. However, all unregistered SIMs would be deactivated for an hour on May 1, she added. Telecom secretary Faizur Rahman Chowdhury said since nearly a quarter of a million customers has completed the biometric SIM registration, some extra time might be granted to the rest. Till 7pm yesterday, Grameenphone had a severe delay in the process, and the verification requests of 200,000 subscribers of Banglalink, 150,000 of Robi, 60,000 of Airtel, and 38,000 of Teletalk were waiting for the EC server to respond.