No ISD working for Bangladesh

[Mav]

I have been trying to call BD. Havent been able to get a line fore last 3-4 days.
R any of you experiencing the same?

Is it because of the moves by caretaker government? Why wud ISD shut down - AT&T didnt pay taxes or something? And we r unable to keep in touch with family.

[reverse_swing]

Originally Posted by Mav
I have been trying to call BD. Havent been able to get a line fore last 3-4 days.
R any of you experiencing the same?

Is it because of the moves by caretaker government? Why wud ISD shut down - AT&T didnt pay taxes or something? And we r unable to keep in touch with family.

Not at all. Last night I called to my sister and it was fine.No need to be panic! Everything is alright there. Life is normal and you can speak loudly(as someone has mentioned in this forum) as well if you want.

[Kabir]

Originally Posted by reverse_swing
Not at all. Last night I called to my sister and it was fine.No need to be panic! Everything is alright there. Life is normal and you can speak loudly(as someone has mentioned in this forum) as well if you want.

Haha...nice one RS. Actually, I'm just not sure what's going on there. The VOIP thing is definitely true. But I tried to believe what they tell me from back there...nothing else. May be it's my bro who's acting like an idiot

[Rubu]

Rab has shut down all the VOIP (voice over internet protocol) because they are illegal in bangladesh! (don't ask me why they are illegal). so, if you used a phone card that uses VOIP, you are in deep trouble (like me). I think there have been process going on to legalize it, so that T&T gets some revenue from these calls which it did not get before. but as you know, how long it takes for bangladesh to process anything, you can be rest assure that it will be at least 6 month before you can use those cards again.

[Mav]

Originally Posted by Rubu
Rab has shut down all the VOIP (voice over internet protocol) because they are illegal in bangladesh! (don't ask me why they are illegal). so, if you used a phone card that uses VOIP, you are in deep trouble (like me). I think there have been process going on to legalize it, so that T&T gets some revenue from these calls which it did not get before. but as you know, how long it takes for bangladesh to process anything, you can be rest assure that it will be at least 6 month before you can use those cards again.

Okay I see.
I gotta try a different phone card then. Thanks for the info.

[reverse_swing]

Originally Posted by Rubu
Rab has shut down all the VOIP (voice over internet protocol) because they are illegal in bangladesh! (don't ask me why they are illegal). so, if you used a phone card that uses VOIP, you are in deep trouble (like me). I think there have been process going on to legalize it, so that T&T gets some revenue from these calls which it did not get before. but as you know, how long it takes for bangladesh to process anything, you can be rest assure that it will be at least 6 month before you can use those cards again.

Well I usually use Skype(try their 10 euro Skypeout from net if you want to call land phone or mobile phone). And this one is working so far from Spain.

[layperson]

Originally Posted by Rubu
Rab has shut down all the VOIP (voice over internet protocol) because they are illegal in bangladesh!

Just a slight correction VOIP is not illegal in bangladesh. You need a license to legally operate a VOIP business. You can obtain VOIP licenses from the Telecommunication ministry. INfact there are a few businesses with a VOIP license in bangladesh already.

[Rubu]

Originally Posted by shahriyar
Just a slight correction VOIP is not illegal in bangladesh. You need a license to legally operate a VOIP business. You can obtain VOIP licenses from the Telecommunication ministry. INfact there are a few businesses with a VOIP license in bangladesh already.

prothom alo only a few days ago reported it was illegal. and it is in the process of being legal. are u sure?

[akabir77]

Originally Posted by Rubu
prothom alo only a few days ago reported it was illegal. and it is in the process of being legal. are u sure?

Aceess Asia got a legal business...

[layperson]

Originally Posted by Rubu
prothom alo only a few days ago reported it was illegal. and it is in the process of being legal. are u sure?

The majority of the VOIP businesses now are illegal because they do not have a license. BUt I know it for sure that you can get VOIP licenses because I know of people who have recently obtained VOIP licenses from the Ministry.

[gatekeeper]

Originally Posted by shahriyar
Just a slight correction VOIP is not illegal in bangladesh. You need a license to legally operate a VOIP business. You can obtain VOIP licenses from the Telecommunication ministry. INfact there are a few businesses with a VOIP license in bangladesh already.

Are you sure? Last I heard is that they haven't yet issued formal permits/license but agreed in principle with Grameen and one other ISP. BTW, obtaining license to operate VOIP is easier said than done.

[Tigers_eye]

So which phone cards work for Dhaka?? Can someone list them here. (From US)!!

[akabir77]

use access asia it works...but may be busy during pick hours as every body is using it.

[Fazal]

Also Diamond card works. They reduced the time though.

[cricket_pagol]

my diamond works well when i call very late night US time (after 2am EST)

[Ehsan]

My mom has been trying to call BD, even direct calls has not been possible yet. Anybody else in Canada tried calling in BD?

[Bancan]

ya, i tried. i only got the line once yesterday evening.

[Rubu]

VOIP based and legal?

I'm not sure, just trying to gather the fact.

[nsd3]

I guess the VOIP businesses might have obtained the license but they were not paying taxes properly or something. That's why they were closed by RAB recently. This has caused disturbances in connecting line through card phone from abroad who were buying talk time from these operators in BD.

Yes I'm also facing trouble since the last 2 weeks in New Zealand. I had to call directly without phone cards to talk to one today.

[nasifkhan]

as far as i know to obtain license one must pay Tk 50 Lacs to the authority.....

[Sauron]

VoIP is LEGAL in BD.

You have to have license, and they shut down the non-licensed i.e. illegal ones only.

As akabir77 mentioned - Access Asia has legal VoIP business as well as Prio card (e-mela).

Check, double check, treble check if you want to. Or just take as a fact what Prothom Alo reported.

[akabir77]

My friend use to work with Access Asia in NY. I am 100% sure they r leggal. ran by a bangali.

[Kabir]

May be this will help answer a few questions. If it was wholly illegal, then they would only say "VOIP" rather than "illegal VOIP". So yes, Sauron bhai and akabir bhai are right.

Link between Banglalink and an illegal VoIP outfit in Bangladesh

Anika Farzana and Abu Saeed Khan

Bangladesh, Thursday, February 1, 2007

RAB said it found a link between Banglalink and an illegal VoIP outfit, which the mobile operator denied Wednesday.

The RAB team arrested three people and confiscated huge VoIP equipment after a six-hour operation in Uttara Tuesday night.

RAB officials claimed they recovered "strong documentary evidence" of Banglalink's ties to the arrested suspects.

Banglalink's CEO Rashid Khan could not be contacted for comment, as he was overseas. But the Regulatory and Legal Affairs director, Altaf Faqih, has strongly denied any illicit involvement of his company.

RAB said the raid began at 10pm Tuesday and continued for six hours. It first arrested a man, named Dulal, in Khilkhet on a tip-off.

Based on Dulal's statement, the enforcers revealed an illegal VoIP establishment, Sadia Telecom, in Uttara. Dulal is related to its owner Mohammad Mamun who also runs a calling card business.

Hours past Tuesday midnight, RAB raided Sadia Telecom's office and recovered 23,000 VoIP calling cards with a price range from Tk 500 to Tk 5,000 each.

The officers also seized 120 units of tellular fixed wireless phones and seven units of quintum gateway equipment along with various documents.

RAB's senior assistant director Khandker Abdul Matin told bdnews24.com that the documents link Banglalink with Sadia Telecom and further investigation is in progress.

RAB also arrested Rana and Palash on the crime scene.

Based on the two suspects' statements, RAB further raided Mamun's home. Mamun's landlord said he left for Japan two months ago.

RAB broke into Mamun's apartment and recovered five units of quintum gateway, 10 units of tellular fixed wireless phones and large numbers of Banglalink SIM cards along with $10,000 in cash.

RAB said all confiscated materials would be worth upwards of Tk 4 crore.

RAB quoted Rana and Palash as saying they have long been involved with Sadia Telecom's VoIP business.

The RAB officer, Khandker Abdul Matin, said Banglalink's installation crew had set up the satellite equipment and a tower for Sadia Telecom.

But the mobile operator removed the hardware after the anti-VoIP crackdown began in December, he claimed.

Matin insisted that Banglalink's involvement was evident in the documents recovered from Sadia Telecom.

Banglalink official Altaf Faqih has explicitly denied any "illicit tie" either with Sadia Telecom or any illegal VoIP operator.

"Sadia Telecom is one of our corporate clients and we have no control over any customer's purpose of use," he told bdnews24.com.

Faqih also strongly denied Banglalink's any assistance to Sadia Telecom's VoIP establishment. "Banglalink has been in strict compliance with all regulatory and legal prerequisites in Bangladesh," he said.

RAB said it will further interrogate the arrested suspects and it filed a case with Uttara Police Station.

[Hatebreed]

No wonder I couldn't call BD until I directly called from my mobile..

So can anyone plz tell me a calling card in UK that works?

[Kabir]

So, here's another update. Does it mean Rubu bhai's estimate of 6 months before things could go back to normal is valid? Looks like it's going to stay for a painfully long time!

Alternatively, since they're working fast to deal with this emergency situation, may be it'll get better in 1 month? Who knows...BD authority is very hard to predict.

HC lifts bar on VoIP licensing

Dhaka, Feb 8 (bdnews24.com) – The High Court Thursday lifted a stay order on voice over internet protocol licensing.

The court order came after Global Access Ltd and Sirius Broadband Bd Ltd pulled out of public interest litigation.

There was another side to the legal battle: a second writ petition filed by Daffodil Online Ltd. The High Court also vacated its stay order on VoIP licensing, which was imposed after Daffodil Online filed the writ petition.

The court order cleared way for Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to invite VoIP licence applications. It also widened scope for cheaper overseas calls to and from Bangladesh through licensed operators.

Anik R Haque, lawyer for BTRC, told bdnews24.com that the court order cleared all legal restrictions for the telecoms watchdog to issue VoIP licences.

The bench of judges Nazrul Islam Chowdhury and Jubayer Rahman Chowdhury lifted the restrictions, which were slapped on November 6, 2006.

The court had earlier ordered the government and the telecoms watchdog to explain why the invitation of application for granting VoIP licences before setting up the common platform exchange should not be declared illegal.

According to the two petitions, all the ISPs except Nationwide ISP have been illegally kept out of the VoIP licensing regime.

The BTRC illegally invited applications on September 22 without establishing a common platform internet exchange inline with a cabinet decision, the petitions said.

Although BTRC invited applications to issue VoIP licences, it maintained BTTB's monopoly over the international gateway.

BTRC allowed the cellular mobile, fixed-phone and internet service providers to apply VoIP technology that makes international phone calls cheaper. But all of them were mandated to use BTTB's infrastructure.

BDNews24 >>