Following a cyber threat in a Facebook page, the leading mobile phone operators of the country have expressed their fears about possible sabotages at their installations.
In a Facebook status update on February 3, self-proclaimed political organisation “Z-Force Andolon Cell” threatened to torch all mobile phone towers and cut cable connections across the country unless these facilities are restored in BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office.
“This is a statement from one of our central leaders” – that is how the status starts.
“If cable, internet and mobile connections to the house of democracy [Gulshan office] of the mother of the nation Khaleda Zia are not restored, then we will ask the freedom-loving gallant soldiers of democracy to torch and burn down all the mobile towers and cable offices around the country.
“What will we do with the ‘dish lines?’ We do not need the media that do not carry our news. Burn all the cable operators’ offices. If the mother of the nation does not get cable, internet and mobile network, then nobody in the country will. Sheikh Hasina will have to shoulder the responsibility for all these. We want peace, not war. We are being forced,” the status reads.
The status ends with “Bangladesh Zindabad,” the official slogan of the BNP. It is attached with a video presentation that gives the operators a 12-hour ultimatum to restore the connections to the Gulshan office.
“Z-Force” was the name given to one of the first military brigades formed during the Liberation War in 1971 by the Bangladesh Army. The force got its name from its chief Ziaur Rahman, the first military autocrat of Bangladesh and founder of BNP.
In the early hours of January 31, the power connection to the Gulshan office was cut. Hours later, all data and voice connections to the office and the surrounding areas were also snapped.
Power connection was restored 18 hours later, but data and voice services still remain snapped over a large part of the Gulshan area including Khaleda Zia’s office.
Although the ultimatum expired on Monday morning, some of the mobile operators are still very much concerned.
One Facebook user named Masum Reza commented under the post: “You can severe dish connection, gas lines, water supply and everything but you cannot cut mobile connections. It will have to be kept alive because it is needed to communicate among ourselves.”
As of yesterday evening, the post was viewed 9,521 times, liked by 635 users and shared 938 times. Formed in 2013, the page Z-Fore Andolon Cell has a total of 56,752 followers.
Several operators have already brought the matter to the attention of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
Contacted, a senior official of the BTRC told the Dhaka Tribune that they are fully aware of the situation.
A senior executive officer of a leading operator told the Dhaka Tribune that the blockade has slowed their business considerably and on top of that now they felling insecure.
“Investors are terrified about the fate of their money and all these things will hamper long-term investment,” said the official who wished not to be named.
The six mobile operators of the country have around 30,000 base transceiver stations (BTSs) across the country. The BTSs are the towers that can be seen on the rooftop of high-rise buildings.
