Illegal VoIP business

The telecom regulator should immediately hold all-round discussions with the stakeholders, particularly the mobile operators, and find solutions for the illegal VoIP calls

It is really very surprising that, through the state-run mobile operator Teletalk, the highest number of illegal international calls is entering the country as a result of which the government is losing huge revenue. According to an exclusive report published in this newspaper Tuesday, while the number of international calls that entered Bangladesh on June 4 through private mobile operator were not above 40, for Teletalk the number was 1920 on the day.
Though the state-run operator denied responsibility of illegal VoIP and called it a conspiracy against Teletalk by the private operators, the fact is illegal calls are entering Bangladesh everyday through the state-run operator in the highest number. Quoting the sources of the BTRC The Independent report mentioned that a whopping more than 95 per cent calls is entering through the state-run operator than the private operators.  
Not that the government did not take, at different times, steps to curb the illegal VoIP calls. In fact, the ongoing biometric registration of SIM cards is an effort in that direction to curb the illegal calls as it is easy to detect which SIM cards are used for call terminations. But all efforts seem to be futile.
The fact is there are still around 15 millions SIM cards that are yet to be registered through biometric presentation and Teletalk pointed out this as the very reason for the illegal call terminations.
Now it is the responsibility of the BTRC to stop this practice of terminating international calls illegally. The entity must answer why it failed, in the first place, to block the 1256 Teletalk SIMs that are earlier detected involved in the illegal call terminations. It is indeed very disconcerting that while the number of legal calls terminations through IGWs is 80 million minutes per day the illegal calls number over 40 millions minutes per day, just half of the legal number. One can very well guess how through this process the government is losing huge revenue.
But the question that arises is why the BTRC that uses the state-of-the-art SIM box detection tools, failed to curb these calls. It transpires that there must be a hidden group working in the state-run operator itself that are involved in collusion with a section of officials in this practice of illegal call terminations. It is expected that the BTRC would take a serious step to identify these people and stop the illegal call terminations. It is also expected that the BTRC would be able to complete the biometric registration for the rest of the SIM cards as soon as possible.

Illegal VoIP business

The telecom regulator should immediately hold all-round discussions with the stakeholders, particularly the mobile operators, and find solutions for the illegal VoIP calls

It is really very surprising that, through the state-run mobile operator Teletalk, the highest number of illegal international calls is entering the country as a result of which the government is losing huge revenue. According to an exclusive report published in this newspaper Tuesday, while the number of international calls that entered Bangladesh on June 4 through private mobile operator were not above 40, for Teletalk the number was 1920 on the day. Though the state-run operator denied responsibility of illegal VoIP and called it a conspiracy against Teletalk by the private operators, the fact is illegal calls are entering Bangladesh everyday through the state-run operator in the highest number. Quoting the sources of the BTRC The Independent report mentioned that a whopping more than 95 per cent calls is entering through the state-run operator than the private operators. Not that the government did not take, at different times, steps to curb the illegal VoIP calls. In fact, the ongoing biometric registration of SIM cards is an effort in that direction to curb the illegal calls as it is easy to detect which SIM cards are used for call terminations. But all efforts seem to be futile. The fact is there are still around 15 millions SIM cards that are yet to be registered through biometric presentation and Teletalk pointed out this as the very reason for the illegal call terminations. Now it is the responsibility of the BTRC to stop this practice of terminating international calls illegally. The entity must answer why it failed, in the first place, to block the 1256 Teletalk SIMs that are earlier detected involved in the illegal call terminations. It is indeed very disconcerting that while the number of legal calls terminations through IGWs is 80 million minutes per day the illegal calls number over 40 millions minutes per day, just half of the legal number. One can very well guess how through this process the government is losing huge revenue. But the question that arises is why the BTRC that uses the state-of-the-art SIM box detection tools, failed to curb these calls. It transpires that there must be a hidden group working in the state-run operator itself that are involved in collusion with a section of officials in this practice of illegal call terminations. It is expected that the BTRC would take a serious step to identify these people and stop the illegal call terminations. It is also expected that the BTRC would be able to complete the biometric registration for the rest of the SIM cards as soon as possible.