CityCell served show cause notice

The Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd, better known as CityCell, has been served a show cause notice by the telecom regulatory authorities on Monday, asking the cell phone operator to explain why it was selling unauthorised connections.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission sent the notice after lawmaker Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh was threatened over a cell phone by miscreants recently.
The Rapid Action Battalion and BTRC, in response to the threats made over a newly registered cell phone number, in a joint drive arrested three employees of two cell phone distributor companies — Lokman Hossain, Rafiqul Islam (Miraj), Shafiqul Islam (Ranju) — on Thursday.
‘Soon after the incident, we found at least 26 removable user identity module cards which were sold on February 2 or 3 in the city, but the papers of the cards are yet to reach our office,’ Mahfuzur Rahman, director of technical and corporate affairs of Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd, told New Age on Monday.
He said the Citycell, after investigation, sent a list of 26 users to BTRC, seeking advice and permission to take legal action against them.
‘In reply to the letter, BTRC sent the notice today asking Citycell to reply within 30 days,’ said Mahfuzur Rahman.
When approached for comment, BTRC’s chairman Major General (Retd) Zia Ahmed told New Age that some of the connections have been found to be used for illegal and criminal purposes.
He said the BTRC would examine the connection selling process of all operators in the country.
‘Though we sent the letter to only one company, it is a warning to all mobile operators in the country,’ he added
The total number of active mobile phone subscribers reached 52.43 million at the end of December 2009. Of them Citycell offers post-paid and pre-paid code division multiple access mobile services all across the country to 1.95 million people.
Intelligence sources, however, said extortion and threats to high-profile people over cell phones is unabated.
The callers and the sellers of the R-UIM cards and subscriber identity module cards are still out of the lawmen’s dragnet due to fake registration, sources said.
RAB sources said they are trying to nab the callers but tracing them is difficult as the R-UIM cards reach the subscribers after passing through dealers, sub-dealers and retailers.

Courtesy of NewAgebd