One IMEI number for 1.5 lakh mobile phones!

One IMEI number is being used in Bangladesh for one and a half lakh mobile phones! Robi Axiat’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Mohammad Shahedul Alam disclosed such an explosive piece of information in a presentation given at a seminar on ‘Challenges and Possibilities in the Production of Mobile Handsets in the country’ held at the conference room of the Directorate of Telecommunications in Tejgaon on Thursday.

State Minister Posts, Telecom and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak was also shocked after hearing the information. He said, what he said, it cannot be accepted at all.

However, Harun-or-Rashid, the head of the Police Intelligence Department, found evidence that this is what exactly is happening in various operations. The words of this horror have come up in the voice of BTRC chairman himself too. He said, 20,000 high-end phones of one brand have been legally registered in our system so far. But there are 19 lakh 55 thousand phones in the market. That is, the government gets only 1 percent VAT-tax on that phone in the market.

Meanwhile, the state minister got up and said, ‘what did you say!’

Highlighting the data of mobile database of Bangladesh in the seminar, Shahed Alam said that 5 brands of mobile phones are very popular in the industry now in Bangladesh. Against these phones, over 150,000 handsets are registered with a single IMEI number. 1 lakh 50 thousand handsets have an IMEI number. All are copies. Due to NIR non-implementation and grey-market we have provided a mobile device locking guideline. But unfortunately this guideline is not helpful. Because its terms are often contradictory. It doesn’t work if one of the two SIM slots in the set is turned off and the other is turned on.

Meanwhile, the State Minister drew the attention of Harun-or-Rashid, Chief of Intelligence Department of Police, who was present at the seminar. In response, he said, when we undergo raid against this, we see that they are doing business by building offices like yours and making handsets. In a raid of this kind we recovered 700 mobiles. They are making these mobiles by bringing low quality parts from different places including China. After running for two-three months it wears out. We have seen this not only in mobiles but also in cars. 29 cars are running with one single number!.

The seminar was organized by Telecom and Technology Reporters Network Bangladesh (TRNB), an organization of journalists working in the telecommunications and technology sector of the country. BTRC Chairman Eng Mahiuddin Ahmed, DG, Consumers’ Rights Protection A. H. M Shafikuzzaman, Mobile Phone Industry Ownwrs’ Association President Zakaria Shahid, Vice President Rezwanul Haque, MTOB Secretary General Lt. Colonel Mohammad Zulfikar (Retired) and others were present.

In the event, it was informed that by implementing NEIR, the revenue in Uzbekistan has increased by 700 percent. 98 percent of handsets in Azerbaijan are now registered. Implementation of NEIR in Bangladesh is not possible due to registration complications. But if mobile adoption increases by 40 percent, the GDP grow by additional 4.8 percent. 67 percent mobile broadband adoption will increase GDP by 12 percent.

TRNB General Secretary Masud Robin gave welcome speech in the seminar. Rashed Mehdi, the president of the organization, said in his speech that our existence in the virtual world is just a device. It is one’s identity and abode. If there is a mutual business agreement between the operator and the manufacturer, we can get even the most expensive sets at a low price. Gray market is increasing in the country due to lack of this collaboration.