Industry Updates

The BTRC yesterday issued a fresh set of directives to telecom operators, laying out instructions on service and tariff for protecting the interest of consumers.

The directives included restrictions against the use of ambiguous and alluring language for promotional campaigns, auto-renewal of different packages, and the discarding of unused data for consequent charging intervals.

The directive, signed by BTRC’s Systems & Services Division Director Lt Col Mohammad Zulfikar,  mentioned that if any SIM was found to be unused for two years, the operators could sell it in due process.

According to the directive by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, in designing a product or an offer, mobile companies have to avoid using addictive elements that are likely to lure the consumers to indulge in irrational or unnecessary heavy usage or recharge.

Promotional offers would also not be allowed to use words like “best,” “highest” and “first,” according to the guideline. The directive also said the bonus of any promotional offer, like talk-time, SMS, MMS or data volume, would have to be reasonably consumable within the stipulated time.

From now on, mobile phone operators will also have to clearly mention about sponsorships if they offer any third-party products to their subscriber and the offer should not look like the mobile company’s own offer.

The BTRC also directed operators to stop default auto-renewal feature of different data (internet) and value added services, as the subscribers often take those services without having knowledge of such features.

The BTRC said a mobile company could never provide auto-renewal features in any offer without the cognitive consent of the subscribers. For auto-renewal of a service or offer, the mobile companies must obtain permission from the subscriber for every charging period, the regulator said. 

In the directive, the BTRC also mentioned minimum validity of recharge Tk10 for minimum 10 days and Tk1,000 and above for 360 days. 

The BTRC yesterday issued a fresh set of directives to telecom operators, laying out instructions on service and tariff for protecting the interest of consumers.

The directives included restrictions against the use of ambiguous and alluring language for promotional campaigns, auto-renewal of different packages, and the discarding of unused data for consequent charging intervals.

The directive, signed by BTRC’s Systems & Services Division Director Lt Col Mohammad Zulfikar,  mentioned that if any SIM was found to be unused for two years, the operators could sell it in due process.

According to the directive by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, in designing a product or an offer, mobile companies have to avoid using addictive elements that are likely to lure the consumers to indulge in irrational or unnecessary heavy usage or recharge.

Promotional offers would also not be allowed to use words like “best,” “highest” and “first,” according to the guideline. The directive also said the bonus of any promotional offer, like talk-time, SMS, MMS or data volume, would have to be reasonably consumable within the stipulated time.

From now on, mobile phone operators will also have to clearly mention about sponsorships if they offer any third-party products to their subscriber and the offer should not look like the mobile company’s own offer.

The BTRC also directed operators to stop default auto-renewal feature of different data (internet) and value added services, as the subscribers often take those services without having knowledge of such features.

The BTRC said a mobile company could never provide auto-renewal features in any offer without the cognitive consent of the subscribers. For auto-renewal of a service or offer, the mobile companies must obtain permission from the subscriber for every charging period, the regulator said. 

In the directive, the BTRC also mentioned minimum validity of recharge Tk10 for minimum 10 days and Tk1,000 and above for 360 days.