Dhaka — The Bangladesh Mobile Phone Subscribers Association (BMPSA) has called for control of mobile networks in border areas. They made the demand out of fear of crime and sabotage in the border areas of Bangladesh, especially in the border areas of Myanmar and India, using their country's mobile network at the border of Bangladesh.
The body's president, Mohiuddin Ahmed made the demand in a statement sent to the media on Wednesday (June 30th). In the statement, Mohiuddin Ahmed said that mobile network is one of the means of smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking and even important information smuggling in the border areas.
“Especially since August 25, 2017, when Rohingyas from Rakhine State took refuge as refugees in Ukhiya and Teknaf, the issue of misuse of the mobile networks came to the fore. Even though the use of this mobile network they create chaos by holding public meetings.”
From our observation through various sources, it can be seen that out of 11 lakh Rohingyas, about 8 to 9 lakh are Bangladesh mobile operators. Another 3 to 4 lakh SIMs belong to Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), a mobile company in Myanmar.
“The government shut down 3G and 4G services in Myanmar from September 1, 2019, when we demanded the closure of mobile networks,” he said.
Right after that, Rohingyas started using the network of mobile operators in Myanmar. Myanmar's mobile operator has set up a mobile tower on the banks of the Naf River in the interest of faster customer service and business.”
“There is a danger of money laundering, criminal and state security-related information being smuggled through this. We call for a speedy resolution of the issue through bilateral talks in accordance with the law of the Telecom Regulatory Commission of the two countries.”, he noted.
