Telecom law amendment bill placed

[ Front Page ] 2010-06-14

Telecom law amendment bill placed

A bill was placed in parliament yesterday for amending the telecommunication law with a provision of stern action against individuals using telecom or radio apparatus for malicious purposes. An individual could face imprisonment of up to five years, or a maximum fine of Tk 300 crore or both for "activities against national harmony, public security and friendly relations with neighbouring countries" through use of telecom or radio apparatus, said the bill. If any posting or exchange of message against national harmony appears on the web, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) would ask the telecom service provider to remove it before taking any tough action. But if the directive is not complied with, stern actions would be taken against individuals or organisations responsible, it said. The bill proposed that the authority to issue licences, and make financial and policy decisions should rest with the government, not the BTRC, which now enjoys the privileges exclusively. The BTRC would issue licences on prior approval of the government, it said. Another proposal was made for awarding punishment to telecom operators for wrongdoings without giving them scope for challenging the decision on cancellation and suspension of licences. The bill placed by the post and telecommunications minister suggested a fine up to Tk 300 crore for violation of the provisions of the law. It contains a few clauses outlining the means to bring the VoIP (voice over internet protocol) business under a legal framework. The bill suggesting scaling up the punishment up to five years' imprisonment from six months or a maximum fine of Tk 5 crore from Tk 50,000 or both for posting obscene, indecent, threatening and grossly insulting message through use of telecom or radio apparatus. Once the bill gets through, a "Social Obligation Fund" will be raised for expansion of telecom network in remote areas. In defence of the proposed changes, Post and Telecommunications Minister Raziuddin Ahmed Razu said the amendments are required to materialise the vision to have a "digital Bangladesh". In a brief statement tagged with a copy of the bill, he said the bill contains a provision for legalising VoIP business and issuing VoIP call termination operator licences to generate employment. The minister said if the bill gets through, it would help curb illegal use of telecom technology and increase revenue income. The bill was sent to the parliamentary standing committee on post and telecommunications ministry for scrutiny. The committee was asked to turn in a report in the House within 15 days. [ ‡klcvZv ] 2010-06-14 †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvM m¤úwK©Z jvB‡mÝ cÖ`vb Ki‡e miKvi msm‡` wej DÌvwcZ Avmv`y¾vgvb mgªvU: †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvM m¤úwK©Z jvB‡mÝ cÖ`v‡b evsjv‡`k †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvM wbqš¿Y Kwgk‡bi (wewUAviwm) ¶gZv cÖZ¨vnvi K‡i miKv‡ii Kv‡Q wb‡q MZKvj RvZxq msm‡` GKwU wej DÌvwcZ n‡q‡Q| †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvM (ms‡kvab) wej-2010 cvm n‡j GLb †_‡K †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvM m¤úwK©Z me ai‡bi jvB‡mÝ cÖ`vb Ki‡e miKvi| WvK I †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvMgš¿x ivwRDwÏb Avn‡g` ivRy MZKvj wejwU DÌvcb Ki‡j Zv cix¶v-wbix¶v K‡i 15 w`‡bi g‡a¨ wi‡cvU© cÖ`v‡bi Rb¨ WvK, Zvi I †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvM gš¿Yvjq m¤úwK©Z msm`xq KwgwU‡Z †cÖiY Kiv n‡q‡Q| we‡j ejv n‡q‡Q, †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvM m¤úwK©Z jvB‡m‡Ýi Rb¨ wewUAviwmi wbKU Av‡e`b Ki‡Z n‡e| wewUAviwm miKv‡ii Aby‡gv`b wb‡q jvB‡mÝ Bmy Ki‡e| we`¨gvb AvB‡b †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvM Acv‡iUi‡`i U¨vwid, KjPvR© I Ab¨vb¨ Pv‡R©i nvi Aby‡gv`‡bi ¶gZv wewUAviwmi wbKU _vK‡jI cÖ¯ÍvweZ AvB‡b GB ¶gZv miKv‡ii Kv‡Q †`qvi mycvwik Kiv n‡q‡Q| we`¨gvb AvB‡b †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvM m¤úwK©Z Aciv‡ai Rb¨ 10 jvL UvKv Rwigvbvi weavb i‡q‡Q| cÖ¯ÍvweZ AvB‡b Aciv‡ai aib we‡kølY K‡i GB Rwigvbvi cwigvY m‡e©v”P 300 †KvwU UvKv Ges m‡e©v”P 5 eQi Kviv`‡Êi cÖ¯Íve Kiv n‡q‡Q| GQvov †KD †Uwj‡hvMv‡hvM hš¿cvwZ e¨envi K‡i RvZxq HK¨ ev msnwZi cwicš’x †Kv‡bv KvR Ki‡j Zvi Rb¨ m‡e©v”P 300 †KvwU UvKv Rwigvbvi cÖ¯Íve Kiv n‡q‡Q| jvB‡m‡Ýi †Kv‡bv kZ© †Kv‡bv †mev j•Nb Ki‡j GRb¨ m‡e©v”P 300 †KvwU UvKv cªkvmwbK Rwigvbvi cÖ¯Íve Kiv n‡q‡Q| GB Av‡`‡ki ci kZ© j•Nb Ae¨vnZ _vK‡j cÖwZw`‡bi Rb¨ 1 †KvwU UvKv K‡i Rwigvbv Av`vq Kiv n‡e| we‡j AvB‡bi mKj Aciva‡K †gvevBj †KvU© AvB‡bi Zdwmjfz³ Kivi cÖ¯Íve Kiv n‡q‡Q| Gi d‡j Av`vjZ G m¤úwK©Z Aciva Zvr¶wYK Avg‡j wb‡q wePvi Ki‡Z cvi‡eb| G‡¶‡Î †dŠR`vwi Kvh©wewa Kvh©Ki n‡e bv| ms‡kvwaZ AvB‡b †Uwj‡dv‡b Puv`vevwR Ges †`‡k HK¨ I msnwZ i¶vi cÖ‡kœ bZzb aviv ms‡hvRb Kiv n‡q‡Q|