Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Tuesday clarified that it has no plan to restrict internet communication apps like Viber, WhatsApp, Imo and others.
The country’s telecom regulator came up with the clarification while issuing a press statement in the afternoon signed by its Secretary Sarwar Alam.
On Friday, BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood said that the communication apps were responsible for decline in international call termination via the legal channel.
He also said that BTRC was going to develop guidelines for them by two to three months.
Shahjahan Mahmood said that Bangladesh was falling behind in revenues from international calls because of these over-the-top (OTT) apps.
“The authorities would reach a decision about these apps in the next two to three months,” he told this at a press briefing. The remark of BTRC chairman touched off a storm on social media websites, with many seeing the move as a contradiction to the government’s promise of building a digital Bangladesh. Contradicting the BTRC chairman’s statement, State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim on Sunday said that the government does not have any plans to restrict these apps.
“The government will not be shutting down free messaging and calling apps for smartphones,” said the minister.
She said, “Illegal VoIP activities have to be ended completely and the government has a zero tolerance policy toward this. But Imo, Viber, WhatsApp…these apps will not be prohibited. There is no question about it.”
