Considering the security issue  Bangladesh government, has ordered mobile telecommunication operators to shut down their networks alongside the border with India.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told  that they were unaware of any such decision in a Response to the media when contacted  

Mobile phone operators disabled their networks within 1km of the border soon after receiving the letter from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) issued on December 29 ,

"We have ordered the (mobile network) shutdown in light of a government directive," BTRC Senior Assistant Director Md Zakir Hossain Khan said.

The directive, sent to Grameenphone, Teletalk, Robi and Banglalink, said network coverage along the border with India would have to remain suspended until further notice “for the sake of the country’s security in the current circumstances.”

Brig Gen (retd) S M Farhad, secretary general at the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh, told to the press: “Mobile network operators in Bangladesh are compliant with government regulations; accordingly, the directive on border network coverage has already been implemented.

“This decision will certainly have an impact since a large segment of citizens in the border areas will be out of the range of the internet, voice and other services,” he added.

The decision will affect about 10 million mobile phone subscribers in 32 districts that share the border with India and Myanmar, as about 2,000 towers are located in those areas, a BTRC official said, requesting anonymity.


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