When Teletalk above law

18 lakh unregistered SIMs still active

Although the country’s five mobile operators, out of six, blocked about two crore unregistered subscribers identity modules (SIM) as the May 31 deadline set by the government passed, at least 18 lakh unregistered SIMs of the state-run mobile operator Teletalk are still active.
As per the report of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), till April 30, Teletalk has 4.3 million subscribers. Of these, only 2.5 million SIMs have been registered biometrically, which means 1.8 million are still unregistered, but these are active.
As a result, allegations have been made that these unregistered SIMs could be used for different illegal purposes, such as illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
The managing director of Teletalk, Giasuddin Ahmed, admitted, while talking to The Independent, that many unregistered SIMs are still active.
“We are manually blocking at least 5,000 unregistered SIMs per day,” he said.
If unregistered SIMs are blocked manually at this rate, it will take more than a year to complete the task of blocking the Teletalk SIMs.
State minister for posts and telecommunications, Tarana Halim, told The Independent that unregistered SIMs of Teletalk are still active, "which is a clear violation of the government order".
“I have talked to the managing director of Teletalk who sought more time for it. But I told him to complete the blocking of unregistered Teletalk SIMs within 10 days, because law is equal for all. If all other mobile operators can block their unregistered SIMs, why not Teletalk,” she wondered.
Giasuddin said they have constraints of biometric supporting devices and manpower. So, they have not been able to do it in time.
He said Grameenphone expressed its willingness to cooperate with Teletalk by letting it use its devices. But the agreement between Teletalk and Grameenphone has been signed only two days ago.
Despite various measures taken by the government to curb illegal call termination, including the recent biometric verification of SIM cards, international calls are still entering the country illegally, mostly through SIMs of the state-run mobile operator Teletalk.
BTRC sources said over the last few days,  the commission detected—with the help of its state-of-the-art SIM box detection tool—that more than 95 per cent of the calls that had entered the country were illegal. Most of these calls were terminated using Teletalk SIMs.
After the deadline of biometric SIM verification ended on May 31, the BTRC, during the first four days of June, identified 7,709 illegal call terminations through SIM boxes.
The number of calls terminated using Teletalk SIMs were 1,681, 2,184, 1,828 and 1,920, while only two illegal calls through Grameenphone (GP), two by Robi, 11 by Banglalink, and none using Airtel and Citycell connections.
PSTN operator RanksTel connections were used to terminate 42 calls on June 3, and 39 calls on June 4.

When Teletalk above law

18 lakh unregistered SIMs still active

Although the countrys five mobile operators, out of six, blocked about two crore unregistered subscribers identity modules (SIM) as the May 31 deadline set by the government passed, at least 18 lakh unregistered SIMs of the state-run mobile operator Teletalk are still active. As per the report of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), till April 30, Teletalk has 4.3 million subscribers. Of these, only 2.5 million SIMs have been registered biometrically, which means 1.8 million are still unregistered, but these are active. As a result, allegations have been made that these unregistered SIMs could be used for different illegal purposes, such as illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The managing director of Teletalk, Giasuddin Ahmed, admitted, while talking to The Independent, that many unregistered SIMs are still active. We are manually blocking at least 5,000 unregistered SIMs per day, he said. If unregistered SIMs are blocked manually at this rate, it will take more than a year to complete the task of blocking the Teletalk SIMs. State minister for posts and telecommunications, Tarana Halim, told The Independent that unregistered SIMs of Teletalk are still active, which is a clear violation of the government order. I have talked to the managing director of Teletalk who sought more time for it. But I told him to complete the blocking of unregistered Teletalk SIMs within 10 days, because law is equal for all. If all other mobile operators can block their unregistered SIMs, why not Teletalk, she wondered. Giasuddin said they have constraints of biometric supporting devices and manpower. So, they have not been able to do it in time. He said Grameenphone expressed its willingness to cooperate with Teletalk by letting it use its devices. But the agreement between Teletalk and Grameenphone has been signed only two days ago. Despite various measures taken by the government to curb illegal call termination, including the recent biometric verification of SIM cards, international calls are still entering the country illegally, mostly through SIMs of the state-run mobile operator Teletalk. BTRC sources said over the last few days, the commission detectedwith the help of its state-of-the-art SIM box detection toolthat more than 95 per cent of the calls that had entered the country were illegal. Most of these calls were terminated using Teletalk SIMs. After the deadline of biometric SIM verification ended on May 31, the BTRC, during the first four days of June, identified 7,709 illegal call terminations through SIM boxes. The number of calls terminated using Teletalk SIMs were 1,681, 2,184, 1,828 and 1,920, while only two illegal calls through Grameenphone (GP), two by Robi, 11 by Banglalink, and none using Airtel and Citycell connections. PSTN operator RanksTel connections were used to terminate 42 calls on June 3, and 39 calls on June 4.