65 ISPs fined Tk 55 lakh for unapproved tariff

Bangladesh Telecommu-nication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) yesterday fined 65 internet service providers (ISPs) Tk 55 lakh for not taking approval of charges they had set for services. 

Of the 65 ISPs, 45 were fined Tk 1 lakh each while the rest Tk 50,000 each.

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The telecom watchdog yesterday sent letters to the ISPs giving them 10 working days to pay the penalty.

In June last year, the BTRC, under a "One Country, One Rate" initiative, stated that customers could be charged a maximum of Tk 500 a month for the use of a broadband internet connection with a minimum internet speed of 5 megabits per second (mbps).

For 10 mbps, the rate was fixed at Tk 800 to Tk 1,000 and for 20 mbps, Tk 1,100 to Tk 1,200. At that time the BTRC had made it mandatory for the ISPs to take approvals before rolling out their services.

However, allegations came up against some ISPs that they were not abiding by the rules of the "One Country, One Rate" directives.

Recently, the BTRC directed International Internet Gateway (IIG) service providers to disconnect bandwidth connections of a few hundred ISPs for not renewing licences and not taking approval of service charges.

The aforementioned 65 firms had not contacted the BTRC after their bandwidth was disconnected, according to the BTRC.

There are about 2,000 ISPs in Bangladesh.