Illegal Voip
BTRC shortlists 5 cos to set up monitoring system
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has short-listed five companies for developing a centralised monitoring system to curb illegal business in voice over internet protocol. BTRC officials said three foreign firms and two local firms were short-listed among eight applicants for developing and installing a system to track illegal VoIP. The centralised system will also be able to calculate the revenue loss because of the illegal call transmission, they said.
According to BTRC document, the regulator will purchase the solution for three years from a vendor who has minimum five years of experience in international call fraud detection.
BTRC officials said a seven-member technical committee was formed to evaluate the proposal where the telecom ministry failed to provide its representative which delayed the whole process.
The telecom regulator in last one year has taken a number of steps to curb illegal VoIP business but none of the move seemed effective, they said.
‘No move will be able to curb illegal VoIP until we have a centralised monitoring system in BTRC which is operated by honest people,’ a BTRC official told New Age.
He said several government moves failed to stop illegal VoIP as the ruling party men are involved with the business who escape regulation through political backing.
According to BTRC officials, currently the country records around 4 crore minutes of international calls everyday of which 1 crore minutes are routed illegally.
A powerful group of IGW operators is pressing the government to lower the international incoming call charge to 1.5 US cents from existing 3 cents.
Some ministers and prime ministers’ advisers and BTRC high-ups are also involved with the initiative which will cause Tk 1,073 crore revenue loss per year, according to BTRC analysis.
The finance ministry has twice rejected the proposal but the BTRC recently sent the proposal again.
The Awami League-led government in 2012 awarded 25 licenses – mostly to people linked to the ruling party who made the market instable and already has huge amount of dues to the BTRC.
The BTRC is facing problems in realising the dues because of the strong political backup of the new companies.
‘This is another form of VoIP. They took license for legal business but they evade the tax and their earning becomes undisclosed income,’ said a BTRC official.
-With New Age input
