NEIR Data Stays in Bangladesh, Claims of Cross-Border Transfer Found Misleading
The Mobile Business Community Bangladesh, an association of mobile phone traders, claimed on January 11 that customer data collected under the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) system would be transferred to neighboring countries. However, an independent investigation by DigiBanglaTech.news has found this claim to be misleading.
A geolocation check of the server hosting the mobile handset registration website, neir.gov.bd, shows that the server location appears as Dhaka in eight different databases, with the sole exception of the IP geolocation service IP2Location. Notably, only the IP2Location database—whose servers are based in Penang, Malaysia—lists the associated internet service provider Agni Systems Limited (IP: 182.252.71.118) as being located in Delhi. However, even in that case, the geolocation itself shows Minto Road, Dhaka. It is a well-established historical fact that Agni Systems is Bangladesh’s first internet service provider.
In contrast, databases such as DBIP, IP Registry, IPAPI, and CriminalIP all confirm that the NEIR server is located in Dhaka.
So how did such confusion arise? The investigation reveals that the NEIR system was developed for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) by Synesis IT, a Bangladeshi IT firm. Data routing for the system is handled by Agni Systems. Through submarine cable connectivity, the company converts the public domain into a private network, securing the data routing system. However, a company named Net2Location mistakenly confused Bangladesh’s Agni Systems with another company of the same name in India and made an incorrect database entry. This error led to the spread of misinformation.
After the issue came to light, Agni Systems contacted the concerned entity and requested corrections to the address and location. Agni Systems Limited Director Jia Shamsi said that once the issue was identified, they used a paid LinkedIn account to locate and contact the owner of the single-proprietorship company responsible for the error, which is based in Penang, Malaysia. According to him, the company has assured that it will correct the mistake promptly. He also requested that if the error appears elsewhere, it should be reported to them.
Meanwhile, Synesis IT representative Aminul Bari Shubhra stated,
“All NEIR data is stored entirely within Bangladesh, at data centers owned by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and the Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited. We can responsibly state that there is no possibility of NEIR data being transferred outside the country, and any such allegations or claims are completely baseless.”
The same message was conveyed after contacting BTRC. The regulator confirmed that the NEIR database is not located outside the country and remains in Dhaka.
It is worth noting that IP address or internet bandwidth management does not fall under the direct purview of NEIR. These matters are handled by the respective ISPs and network operators. The IP address in question does not belong to any foreign ISP infrastructure; rather, it is an IP allocated to Bangladesh’s ISP Agni Systems. Verification across multiple geolocation lookup servers shows that all but one identify the IP’s location as Bangladesh. This lone exception stems from a database error in the lookup service itself and has no connection to actual data storage or transmission. After identifying the issue, Agni Systems has been working with the relevant service provider to resolve it.
DBTech/IH/MUM/OR
