Despite irregularities, the country's mobile phone network service providers Grameenphone, Banglalink and Robi Axiata, are largely out of reach. This is a very common and significant point of frustration for millions of mobile users in Bangladesh.
Mobile phone network providers like Grameenphone, Banglalink and Robi Axiata mobile phone companies illegally provide telecom value-added services (TVAS) using various tactics, evading government revenue and embezzling customers' money.
Anti-corruption policymakers believe that corruption among mobile operators has taken a horrific turn. They say that these companies are also defrauding the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) by overcharging customers, which amounts to serious crime.
The Telecommunication Ministry and BTRC sources told the Daily Observer, the operators have adopted innovative strategies to evade dividend revenue. To evade revenue, they have started financial transactions using the names and addresses of non-existent organizations. Foreign workers have been recruited illegally.
They involve unregistered companies in transactions. They even transfer money to other banks instead of the designated bank to prevent illegal transactions from being exposed. The BTRC is shocked to see such irregularities and corruption by the operators on the ground.
However, Grameenphone, Banglalink and Robi Axiata illegally provide telecom value-added services (TVAS) off-net through interconnection exchange (ICX) services. Interconnection Exchange (ICX): This is the fundamental infrastructure that allows different telecom networks to connect with each other. It handles the routing of calls and SMS between operators.
A ICX operator claim is that Grameenphone, Banglalink and Robi Axiata are using the ICX infrastructure to forcefully inject VAS traffic onto the networks of their competitors. This could mean:
ICX operators, who claim to have contributed Tk 5,862 crore in revenue over the past 14 years, said the proposed reforms by the BTRC would enable mobile network operators (MNOs) to monopolize telecom services by bypassing the ICX system.
They warned that this move could not only reduce government revenue to just Tk 16 to Tk 17 crore annually from MNOs, but also pose serious threats to national security by removing an essential layer of surveillance and control.
The mobile operator's data centre and submitting audit reports of financial income and expenditure with false information, illegally providing services in collaboration with mobile operators, and evading BTRC and government revenue by hiring foreign workers in violation of existing regulations.
According to the information received, mobile operators have third-party companies to ensure TVAS. Various welcome tunes, wall papers, messages are given to the subscribers on the occasion of prayers, fasting, sahri and puja.
A high official of BRCT told this correspondent that the operators say that the money collected in the name of this service is supposed to be through a third party. However, the mobile operators themselves are embezzling millions of taka from customers in the name of various packages, bypassing the eyes of the government and BTRC.
The BTRC is the only entity with the power and authority to investigate such a deep-rooted, technical allegation involving interconnection between operators. The allegation you've described points to a potentially significant violation that goes far beyond typical customer service complaints. It suggests a manipulation of core network protocols for illicit gain.
