The telecom regulator has once again asked mobile phone operators to update their subscribers’ information properly, to help law enforcement agencies identify and trace the real users of phone SIMs.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) sat in a meeting yesterday with the chief executive officers of mobile phone companies to discuss the issue and figure out a solution.
BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose chaired the meeting, while the CEOs from five private mobile phone operators were present, along with other BTRC commissioners and senior officials.
“We found that law enforcement agencies were very concerned about the correct information of users and they have given us feedback about their findings – which are not satisfactory,” ATM Monirul Alam, commissioner of the spectrum division of BTRC, told the Dhaka Tribune after the meeting.
He said the operators have previously been repeatedly given directives about the security concerns, but this time the regulator would be tough on the issue.
Following requests from the law enforcement agencies, the regulator last month asked the operators to update, and if necessary, re-register the customer information, BTRC sources said.
According to law enforcement agencies, around 80% of SIM information were incorrect; however, senior executives of different mobile operators claimed the figure could hardly be around 30%-40%.
In yesterday’s meeting, the BTRC chairman also asked the top officials of the operators to update the regulator about their progress on the issue. He also asked for more advertisements from the operators to motivate the users for updating their information.
“We may go for common advertisements soon for re-registering the customers’ information,” said one of the top officials who was present at the meeting.
“I can understand the reality; it will be simply impossible to update all the users’ information overnight. But I want to see that you people are trying to ensure our security,” a senior executive quoted Sunil Kanti Bose as telling the meeting.
However, operator sources said they face difficulty in verifying subscribers’ information as they do not have access to the national ID card database.
