Play store
The Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers Association (BMPCA) has called for an independent investigation into an alleged illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) racket after the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) detected thousands of SIM cards being used for unlawful international call termination and fined four mobile operators around Tk 8.68 crore.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the consumer rights body expressed deep concern over what it described as a serious threat to state revenue, national security and governance in the country’s telecommunications sector.
According to the association, BTRC recently identified 8,682 SIM cards that had been used in illegal VoIP operations, prompting the telecom regulator to impose administrative penalties on the operators concerned.
BMPCA President Mohiuddin Ahmed said the scale of the violations suggested that the matter went far beyond a simple breach of licence conditions.
“If thousands of SIM cards were used for illegal VoIP activities over a prolonged period, this cannot be treated as an isolated regulatory violation. It raises serious questions about state revenue losses, national security and the effectiveness of oversight in the telecom sector,” he said.
Ahmed argued that administrative fines alone were insufficient to ensure accountability for violations of such magnitude.
“The recovery of thousands of illegally used SIM cards during a joint operation clearly indicates that this was an organised operation rather than an isolated incident,” he said. “The nation deserves to know who operated the racket, who benefited financially and how such activities continued despite regulatory monitoring.”
The association also noted that allegations of substantial government revenue losses and possible money laundering linked to illegal VoIP operations have surfaced repeatedly in recent years, making a comprehensive investigation imperative.
It urged the government to launch an independent, impartial and high-level inquiry involving the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), law enforcement agencies and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The BMPCA further demanded that authorities identify and prosecute all individuals, syndicates and organisations involved in the illegal business under existing laws, recover any revenue lost by the state and strengthen regulatory oversight to prevent similar offences in the future.
The association also called for enhanced technical surveillance and greater accountability among mobile network operators to ensure compliance with telecom regulations.
“Establishing the rule of law in the telecom sector requires more than imposing financial penalties,” Mohiuddin Ahmed said. “Unless those responsible are brought to justice, such crimes will continue, the state will keep losing revenue and ordinary consumers will ultimately bear the consequences.”
Mobile VoIP enables users to make internet-based calls through smartphone applications, allowing low-cost international communication. However, illegal VoIP operators bypass licensed international gateways, depriving the government of revenue while posing security and regulatory risks.
The BTRC recently uncovered the illegal SIM-based operations during regulatory enforcement activities and subsequently imposed administrative fines totaling approximately Tk 8.68 crore on four mobile operators for violations related to the unlawful international call termination network.