BTRC scraps licences of 33 ISPs for non-renewal

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission on Thursday cancelled licences of 33 internet service providers as the ISPs failed to renew their licences.
BTRC officials said the operation of the ISPs would remain suspended until further notice.
‘We have asked the ISPs to pay their dues within one month and renew the licences. Once they do so, they might be able to resume operation,’ said a BTRC official.
Another senior BTRC official said the ISPs were given enough time to clear their dues but they did not respond.
The telecom regulator launched a nationwide drive against illegal internet service providers last week in a bid to ensure proper monitoring of the broadband internet service.
A large number of small-area-based ISPs run their business without permission or licence from the commission.
The BTRC drive, however, put many broadband internet users in miseries as their connection was suspended overnight and in many areas the ISPs fled their offices to evade legal action.
‘We are now trying to get tagged with legal ISPs to salvage our business. We have kept our old office shut fearing that the BTRC might confiscate the equipment,’ an ISP business owner told New Age.
He also said he was receiving continuous phone calls from customers as the service remained suspended.
Tawhidul Islam, an ISP broadband user in the city’s Moghbazar area, told New Age on Thursday that his internet connection remained off since Wednesday.
‘If the ISP doesn’t have the licence, it’s not my fault but I am suffering because
of the unlawful activities of ISPs and the government’s sudden decision,’ he said.
He said, ‘If I try to get the service from outside (from ISPs operating in nearby areas), the local ISPs often create problem.’
According to the BTRC web site, there are 158 legal ISPs under the nationwide category.
Of them, 95 are in central zone, 28 in south-east zone, eight in south-west zone, 10 in north-east zone and 17 in north-west zone.
Besides the ISPs, there are 145 registered ISPs in the category A (Dhaka metropolitan area), 29 in the category B (Chittagong, Rajshahi, Barisal and Sylhet metropolitan areas) and 24 in the category C (other than metropolitan areas).

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