Dhaka, Oct 7, 2007: Grameenphone Ltd. has agreed to make a one-time payment of BDT 1,684 million to the Government as compensation for revenues lost due to the use of Grameenphone subscriptions by some customers to illegally transfer international calls. Grameenphone has fully cooperated with the law enforcement agency and Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) officials investigating the case.
Grameenphone has not actively taken enough measures to prevent the use of its products by some customers for illegally terminating international calls. Acknowledging that this has caused the Government loss of revenues, Grameenphone has agreed to pay this compensation to the Government.
“In this case, measures for monitoring general usage by certain customer groups could have prevented customers’ wrongful use of our products and thus loss of revenue for the Government. Such measures are now being developed,” said Anders Jensen, CEO of Grameenphone.
International call termination to Bangladesh is a licensed service and is currently provided only by the state-owned landline telephone operator BTTB. SIM cards from several operators have been used to terminate international calls illegally.
A mobile operator will never have a full overview of the origin for calls coming into its network. Grameenphone has not been accused of directly operating international calls through internet or for having the necessary equipment for such calls installed at its premises.
"This practice has been increasing over the last few years, leading to illegal termination into most mobile operators' networks. The Government is now focusing on this practice. We support all law enforcement activities to ensure that the telecommunications sector in Bangladesh and the customers adhere to the laws and regulations of the country. We also support all discussion on how to ensure a level-playing field in the industry," Jensen said.
Law enforcement agency and BTRC officials started to take measures against these operations after the new interim government took office in January 2007. During raids against illegal call termination businesses, an investigation report noted that Grameenphone SIM cards were found at one such business location. Local media reported that connections from a number of mobile and landline operators have been used to illegally terminate such international calls. Grameenphone has fully cooperated with the officials investigating the case. All such numbers which were identified as being used for call termination were barred. Tools are being developed to monitor and help law enforcement officials to find illegal international call termination operations.