Tk 400 fine per SIM every hour for illegal VoIP
BSS
The cellular phone operators in the country have to pay Tk 400 as penalty for each hour if their SIM/RUIM is carrier for the illegal use of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), reports BSS.
The telecom regulator has taken the new measure to curb the illegal use of VoIP immediately after the successful completion of biometric SIM/RUIM verification.
An official of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) told the news agency that the regulator had the directive to the operator for deactivation of a SIM/RUIM within four hours of its usage for illegal call termination. If the operator failed to do the deactivation, it had to pay Tk 4,000 as fine.
Now, the time has trimmed down to two hours for deactivation of the SIM/RIUM, but amount of fine has been kept at Tk 4000, he added.
The official, however, said: If the SIM, detected by the SIM Box Detection (SBD) system, is not deactivated within the two hours of detection, the operators have to pay Tk 400 as fine per hour for the SIM.
The telecom regulator has already sent the new directives regarding the illegal use of VoIP to all the six cellular phone operators, he added.
In the directives, the regulator said: All the concerned operators are required to block all the MSISDN detected through the SBD after the prescribed time limit as per the direction of the commission.
Each SIM/RUIM detected by SBD on the allegation of being used for illegal call termination shall be de-activated by the respective operator within two hours after such detection, said the directive.
On contravention of this obligation, the violator shall be liable to an administrative fine of Tk 4,000 against each of such SIM/RUIM, and if such violation is continuous one, the violator shall be liable to an additional administrative fine of Tk 400 for each hour of the continuous period before the deactivation, it added.
Normally, the SIM being used for illegal call termination is detected through SBD and self-regulation of the operators.
According to the latest data of telecom regulator, over 11.60 crore SIMs/RUIMs have completed re-registration using biometric method which was launched by the government on December 16 last year. The campaign successfully ended on May 31.
State minister for posts and telecommunications Tarana Halim said illegal call termination has come down significantly after the SIM/RUIM verification using the human-body-based identity system.
