News Title : Illegal ISPs active in Khulna

News Date : 2015-10-19

-Our Correspondent, Khulna
At least five of the 14 internet service providers in Khulna are operating without any licence from the government, the Dhaka Tribune has learnt. In the Khulna metropolitan area, four nationwide providers – ISN, Ispahani, Link3, and BD dot com – are working with proper licensing. Five others – BK Online, Fast Com, Red Network, Green Communication and Cyber Cafe – also claim that they have been granted permission to provide internet connections in the area. However, names of many of the internet service providers (ISP) that claimed of starting operations after 2014 could not be found in the BTRC’s official lists, as the lists had not been updated. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Act 2011, operating without a licence might lead to 10 years of imprisonment, or Tk30 crore in fines, or both. The ISPs can obtain a licence for a fee of Tk3,600, but they must also have bank solvency and a valid trade licence. Md Abdul Quayum, owner of Red Network, said his ISP has to operate under strict regulations since acquiring a licence from the BTRC, but many other ISPs were running their business without any licence or any monitoring. As a result, the authorised ISPs were facing losses and the government was losing a large amount of revenue, Quayum said. He added that lax monitoring was also increasing the risk of illegal VoIP services. Khandaker Iftekharul Haque, marketing manager for Khulna Fibre Link, told the Dhaka Tribune that the ISP could not start ground-level operations as it was still trying to acquire a licence. However, limited operations were being run among the people involved with the ISP, he added. Business Soft Solution (BSS), one of the ISPs operating without the legal paperworks, claimed they have been granted clearance by authorities concerned after applying for a licence. After calling their office number, an official identifying himself as Abdul Motin said they have applied to the BTRC, but was yet to receive a licence. When the Dhaka Tribune contacted the office of another alleged unauthorised ISP, Speed Net, an official picked up the phone. However, he declined to provide his identity and refused to comment on whether the ISP had obtained any licence. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Assistant Director Belayet Hossain said the names of all the licensed ISPs are mentioned in the commission’s website. But when visiting the site, it was seen that the lists of ISPs were not updated.

Source