Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has allowed four internet protocol telephony service providers (IPTSP) to launch mobile phone application-based calling service amid concern about misuse of the service for international call termination.
BTRC gave the entities the permission to run the service at a recent commission meeting with its acting chairman Md Jahurul Haque in the chair.
The IPTSP operators which got approval for launching app-based calling service are: BDCom Online Limited, Amber IT Limited, MetroNet Bangladesh and Link3 Technology Limited.
Another IPTSP operator, Inter Cloud, has already launched its app-based calling service ‘Brilliant Connect’ upon receiving permission from the telecom regulator.
Engineering and operation department of the commission in its observation said that allowing the IPTSP operators to launch app-based calling service would create scope for entering incoming international calls as on-net calls instead of traditional calls through international gateway operators.
Generation of such calls would affect the government’s revenue earnings from the incoming international calls.
In the context of rapidly falling international incoming calls, allowing the IPTSP operators to run the service might lead to further fall in the volume of such calls.
As per the BTRC’s statistics, the volume of incoming international phone calls was 383.23 crore minutes with a daily average of 12.36 crore minutes in May, 2015.
The call volume, however, dropped to around 102 crore minutes in November this year with a daily average of 3.4 crore minutes.
Mentioning about the security gap in identifying a customer, BTRC’s E&O department also said that the IPTSP operators would use phone numbers of the customers as their identification, which would not be enough for identifying customers.
In line with the commission’s earlier stance regard ing Inter Cloud’s Brilliant, BDCom Online Limited, Amber IT Limited, MetroNet Bangladesh and Link3 Technology Limited were allowed to run app-based calling service subject to compliance with 14 conditions.
The conditions include the entities will have to submit Tk 5 crore in security deposit and any or full amount could be encashed by the commission if any violation of licencing conditions by the entities is detected by the commission.
Besides, the operators will have to ensure that none can misuse the technology in generating local or international calls by using virtual private network to dodge revenue of the government or any other entities.
International call termination must be completed through IGW operators and ICX operators.
Besides, the operators will have to take prior approval from the commission for offering any value-added service to their subscribers.
Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/58926/4-firms-allowed-to-launch-mobile-app-based-calling-service