The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has fined Grameenphone (GP) Tk 1.84 million after detecting 184 subscriber SIMs allegedly being used for illegal international call termination through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), saying the country's largest mobile operator failed to prevent misuse of its network.
In a notice issued on Thursday under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act, 2001, the telecom regulator directed Grameenphone to pay the fine within 10 days of receiving the order and submit documentary proof of payment.
Failure to comply would invite further action under the telecommunications law and other applicable regulations, it added.
The penalty stems from joint enforcement operations carried out by the BTRC, the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) and law enforcement agencies in Cumilla on April 21 and Chattogram on May 19.
According to the regulator, 164 Grameenphone SIMs were seized during a raid in Cumilla, while another 20 subscriber connections were detected during an operation in Chattogram.
According to the regulator, the 184 subscriber SIMs were found to have been used for illegal international call termination through VoIP technology.
BTRC said the seized subscriber connections have been preserved by the relevant law enforcement agencies for investigation and legal proceedings.
In its order, the Commission said Grameenphone had failed to comply with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act, 2001, the Regulatory and Licensing Guidelines for Cellular Mobile Services in Bangladesh, 2024, the conditions of its mobile licence and various regulatory directives.
The regulator said that the operator had failed to establish, maintain and effectively implement mandatory preventive systems to detect and stop subscriber connections from being used for illegal international call termination or origination.
Specifically, the Commission cited several provisions of the 2024 licensing guidelines.
It said Clause 25.04.01 requires every licensee to establish, maintain and effectively implement appropriate technical and self-regulatory mechanisms to identify, monitor and deactivate subscriber connections engaged in illegal international call termination or origination in accordance with BTRC directions.
The regulator also referred to Clause 25.06, which requires every operator to formulate, establish and maintain an effective Telecom Fraud Management (TFM) System capable of proactively detecting, preventing and mitigating fraudulent telecommunications activities.
In addition, the Commission cited Clause 9.08 of the 2024 licensing guidelines, which obliges every licensee to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, policies, guidelines, licence conditions and directives issued by the Commission.
BTRC concluded that Grameenphone had failed to comply with these obligations, resulting in subscriber connections being used for illegal VoIP operations.
Unlike previous enforcement actions, the latest penalty was calculated on a per-SIM basis.
The Commission imposed a fine of Tk 10,000 for each of the 184 subscriber SIMs, resulting in a total administrative penalty of Tk 1.84 million.
Illegal VoIP has long remained one of the telecom regulator's major enforcement concerns because it bypasses licensed international gateways, depriving the government and legitimate operators of revenue while facilitating telecom fraud.
Bangladesh's mobile operators are required to deploy technical systems capable of identifying abnormal traffic patterns and blocking subscriber connections suspected of being used for illegal international call termination.
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