A legal notice was sent to the concerned on Monday to withdraw the directive of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) making it mandatory to use the Bijoy Android Package Kit (apk) on all imported and locally-manufactured android mobile phones.
Bangladesh Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan sent this legal notice on behalf of Mohiuddin Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Cellphone Consumers Association.
Those to whom this notice has been sent are the Secretary of Posts and Telecommunication division, Chairman of BTRC, Chairman of Bangladesh Competition Commission and Deputy Director of Spectrum Management Department of BTRC.
As mentioned in the notice, the instructions given by BTRC that it is mandatory to use the Bijoy Bangla Keyboard app on Android phones is completely arbitrary and BTRC is not empowered to issue such instructions.
The notice also said that while the installation of the app on the phone is free, it has to be done through Google, which is not really free. A special facility is given to a business entity by notification of BTRC.
This is a violation of the Competition Act, 2012 and an offense punishable under Section 24 of the same Act, the legal notice said.
The legal notice signed by Ishrat Hasan stated that if the BTRC does not withdraw the directive issued on January 13 within seven days after receiving the legal notice, legal action will be taken.
Ishrat Hasan sent the legal notice to the four officials by email on Monday.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission made it mandatory to install the Bijoy Android Package Kit (APK) on all imported and locally-manufactured android/smart mobile phones before their marketing on the local market.
On January 13, the BTRC issued an order in this connection to all mobile phone manufacturers and importers in the country.
