Considering the convenience of the people, unregistered phones that were previously decided to be shut down, will be automatically registered and allowed to function when the phones are switched on.
The Posts and Telecommunications division gave the directions, based on the decision, to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Due to the revised guidelines, the National Equipment Identity Registrar (NEIR) has made changes in their policies.
Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar shared to the media on Thursday night that 70 per cent of used mobiles are ‘feature phones’ (buttoned) and not smart phones.
The minister said, “The phones are not smart phones with easy internet facilities. Registering those phones would be an inconvenience for the people. In addition, most of the common people will not be able to verify the IMEI number (identification number) on their phones.”
He added that Sajeeb Wazed Joy, IT Adviser to the Prime Minister had been consulted regarding the inconvenience that the people could face. Instructions were given to the BTRC so that people do not have to face any difficulty.
Regarding illegal mobile sets, Mustafa Jabbar said that it is the work of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to deal with unregistered phones.
“We will create an IMI database. If necessary, NBR will also be given access to the database. The NBR will check which phone is invalid. If they want documents, they will be provided to them,” he said.
There are about 55 lakh unregistered mobile phones in the country. With the change in the decision of the government, these phones will no longer be shut down.