Teletalk, Robi yet to pay fine for illegal VoIP

State-owned mobile operator Teletalk and private mobile operator Robi are yet to pay fines imposed by the telecom regulator for violating voice over internet protocol (VoIP) rules.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission in May fined Teletalk Tk 50.24 lakh and Robi and Grameenphone Tk 4,000 each as the operators failed to terminate suspected illegal VoIP SIMs in time.
Mobile operators are supposed to block all SIM cards which are detected through SIM Box Detection System, an automated system to identify possible illegal VoIP, within four hours of the detection.
Teletalk, however, failed to block 1,256 SIM cards in time and some of those cards were found unblocked even after 83 days of the SIM Box detection, said BTRC officials.
In 2012, the state-run operator was fined Tk 46.36 lakh as unregistered SIM cards of the operator were found used in illegal VoIP. When contacted, Robi spokesperson Ekram Kabir declined to make any comment on the non-payment of the fine.
Robi is a joint venture company between Axiata Group Berhad of Malaysia and NTT DOCOMO, INC. of Japan. It commenced operation in 1997 as Telekom Malaysia Inter-national (Bangladesh) with the brand name ‘Aktel’. In 2010 the company was rebranded to ‘Robi’ and the company changed its name to Robi Axiata Limited.
Meanwhile, leading operator Grameenphone has paid Tk 4,000 in fine on the same ground. The BTRC in a recent move streamlined the rules by reducing the response time to two hours from four hours. It also decided to impose Tk 400
in fine for each extra hour after two hours, if the detected SIM remains in operation.

Teletalk, Robi yet to pay fine for illegal VoIP

State-owned mobile operator Teletalk and private mobile operator Robi are yet to pay fines imposed by the telecom regulator for violating voice over internet protocol (VoIP) rules. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission in May fined Teletalk Tk 50.24 lakh and Robi and Grameenphone Tk 4,000 each as the operators failed to terminate suspected illegal VoIP SIMs in time. Mobile operators are supposed to block all SIM cards which are detected through SIM Box Detection System, an automated system to identify possible illegal VoIP, within four hours of the detection. Teletalk, however, failed to block 1,256 SIM cards in time and some of those cards were found unblocked even after 83 days of the SIM Box detection, said BTRC officials. In 2012, the state-run operator was fined Tk 46.36 lakh as unregistered SIM cards of the operator were found used in illegal VoIP. When contacted, Robi spokesperson Ekram Kabir declined to make any comment on the non-payment of the fine. Robi is a joint venture company between Axiata Group Berhad of Malaysia and NTT DOCOMO, INC. of Japan. It commenced operation in 1997 as Telekom Malaysia Inter-national (Bangladesh) with the brand name Aktel. In 2010 the company was rebranded to Robi and the company changed its name to Robi Axiata Limited. Meanwhile, leading operator Grameenphone has paid Tk 4,000 in fine on the same ground. The BTRC in a recent move streamlined the rules by reducing the response time to two hours from four hours. It also decided to impose Tk 400 in fine for each extra hour after two hours, if the detected SIM remains in operation.