On February 6 this year, the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology issued instructions to mobile operators to send government information to the public for free. Under the directive, only SMS from government, autonomous, and statutory agencies were permitted to be sent under the “Gov. Info” masking, subject to specific conditions. These messages must be in Bengali, limited to 200 characters (including spaces), and may include website links, email addresses, trademarked terms, scientific formulas, or equations in English. Additionally, each message must include the promotion date and be approved through respective administrative ministries or divisions to BTRC via the Department of Posts and Telecommunications.
Despite an additional BTRC directive urging operators to promptly send important public information SMS at no charge, mobile operators have been slow to comply. However, operators have been penalized recently for overloading users with promotional SMS, which has led to frustration within the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.
According to a letter dated Sunday, October 27, signed by Deputy Secretary Mohammad Rafiqul Islam of the ministry’s telecom branch, the BTRC has reissued instructions to operators to comply with the “Government Info SMS Sending Guidelines, 2024.” The ministry has also directed that this guideline be uploaded and permanently displayed on its website.
The letter emphasized that, as part of public awareness, educational, and service initiatives, government, autonomous, and statutory organizations may request the dissemination of critical information to the public through mobile operators via “Gov. Info” masking. The February 6 directive was issued to ensure that these services reach the public quickly and at no cost.
The letter also noted that some operators have not been fully following this directive. As a result, instructions have been given to permanently upload and display the guideline on the ministry’s website.
