No bar for the present time on two telcos’ value-added services
The telecom regulator yesterday temporarily withdrew its ban on Robi and Banglalink on providing value-added services from third parties after the operators decided to ensure compliance, a senior official said.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) suspended the order following the operators promised that telecom VAS wouldn't normally be activated on the phones of subscribers without the consent of subscribers, said Subrata Roy Maitra, vice-chairman of the regulator. Senior officials of Robi and Banglalink visited the commission yesterday and sought withdrawal of the purchase that was released on Sunday.
"We withdrew the buy on conditions. We told them to bring a finish to the harassment confronted by customers and make certain securing consent from their website through SMS, one-period password or software before any VAS is activated. They agreed," explained Maitra. On November 10, the BTRC asked the carriers to place a stop to supply VAS of this content providers registered with the commission until further more notice.
"Still, your company has not complied with the instruction," the commission said found in independent letters to Robi and Banglalink over Sunday. The commission possessed also asked both operators to see it after executing the buy.
Yesterday, the official of Banglalink said the operator had suspended providing VAS from third-party content providers following instruction.
"The program was restored following the commission withdrew the restriction," said the state, on condition of anonymity.
The ban from the regulator came after it discovered that 46 per cent of mobile clients in Bangladesh purchase the VAS they have not subscribed to as articles service providers activate them without their consent on their phones.
VAS providers give various services such as for example -- welcome tunes, voice messages, news alerts, missed call alerts, call block, contact forwarding or perhaps diverting, music, videos, mobile phone games and streaming companies -- through mobile carriers under a good revenue-sharing model and consumers are charged by cellular phone operators.
The service providers must obtain consent from subscribers before activating any service. But they did not take such authorization from the users in practically 50 % cases, and the customers were charged, according to the commission's probe in to the allegation against two VAS services.
It collected information regarding the actions of Purple Digit Communication Ltd and the Abhi Kathachitra Ltd as well as the set of their subscribers within the last six months.
The telecom regulator discovered that the VAS providers mostly targeted the people who participate in low-income groups, are not literate that much, live in the villages and sub-urban areas, and the services are activated after midnight.
It is not possible to access the database of the group of buyers without direct cooperation of the cellular phone operators, the commission letter said on Sunday.
The operators also control the assistance delivery platforms of this content providers. Due to the malpractices, Robi and Banglalink have got violated the telecommunication laws, it said.
In November, the commission had presented seven days to describe why the operators wouldn't normally be directed to discontinue the VAS until even more notice.
Although Robi and Banglalink have refused to simply accept the duty, they take the share of the profit, the letter said.
When a customer buys a connection, they fill in a person acquisition form and consent to hold a deposit in the account of the operator in the sort of balance.
"If anyone deducts cash from the total amount, Robi won't take responsibility. This argument is not appropriate at all," explained the letter. The commission manufactured an identical comment in the letter to Banglalink.
"Had Robi sought, it would not have been practical to deduct the money this way."
Robi and Banglalink receive in least three-fifths of the earnings from the value-added offerings directly, the commission said.
Taimur Rahman, chief corporate and regulatory affairs officer of Banglalink, said, "We appreciate the BTRC's decision to reconsider the restriction on providing VAS by us taking into consideration the greater benefits associated with customers."
"We are focused on ensuring the best service to our customers predicated on the suggestions directed at us by our regulator. We also anticipate continuing our dialogues with the BTRC and obtain guidance from them."
In order to protect the interests of the subscribers, the BTRC on September 14 instructed portable network operators (MNOs) to implement a one-period password (OTP)-based authentication procedure to activate VAS.
The commission had set a September 30 deadline to place the system set up and warned that it would do something to close all VAS from October 1 if the operators did not comply.
The mobile operators didn't oblige, the BTRC said in November.
"We are in the process of implementing BTRC's directive regarding VAS," said Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer of Robi Axiata Ltd, yesterday.
"According to the regulator's directive, we may also be sure that without guaranteeing proper compliance, VAS operators aren't provided usage of our network. We as well concur with the BTRC's view regarding the strengthening of MNOs' control over the VAS operators."
Robi is the second-largest mobile phone operator found in Bangladesh with 5.06 crore subscribers. Third-placed Banglalink has 3.5 crore subscribers.
The amount of VAS licence-holders in Bangladesh is 183, based on the BTRC.
Mobile operators provide value-added solutions through third-party content suppliers as well as independently.
The size of the telecom-related VAS industry is approximately Tk 100 crore, industry people say.
