Bangladesh Faces the Loss of 3 Million Subscribers
Bangladesh's operators face the loss of a collective 3 million subscribers as a deadline to register each active SIM card by the end of this month will not be extended. Manzurul Alam, chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) told reporters that "the re-registration deadline won't be extended anymore,"
The regulator issued a decree to the operators to force all subscribers to register their mobile accounts and provide proof of ID to the operators. The deadline for subscribers to register their details has been extended several times - but not any more.
The operators say that they expect to be able to register the bulk of the remaining 3 million SIM accounts - and will only be allowed to reconnect unregistered SIM cards under exceptional circumstances if they miss the deadline.
The regulator estimates that of the 3 million unnacounted for SIM accounts, some 2.7 million are connected to one operator - Grameenphone.
To register their SIM card - customers must produce two copies of passport size photo, passport or any photo ID card and the forms and documents given during subscription.
If a retailer sells a SIM card without proof of ID they will face a fine of US$10 per infraction.
Bangladesh ended the first quarter with just under 39 million subscribers - and according to figures from the Mobile World, Grameenphone is the dominant operator with (currently) some 17.5 million customers and a marker share of just under 46%.
Posted to the site on 7th May 2008
