Staff ReporterBangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has approved all mobile and PSTN operators to expand their service to the district headquarters of the three hilly districts. BTRC Chairman Maj Gen (retd) Monzurul Alam officially approved the operation at a meeting with all mobile and PSTN operators at his office yesterday. He asked them to immediately start installing their networks in the three hilly districts.

With this expansion of cell phone operation, the three CHT districts will come under the coverage of modern telecommunication. However, the approval of mobile and PSTN operation was subjected to some terms and condition set by BTRC to ensure national security and to prevent possible misuse.

BTRC Chairman laid emphasis on SIM registrations.

He also asked the operators to install networks in municipal areas of the three hill districts — Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban — as per the government’s directive. He advised mobile operators to share basic infrastructures of networking.

Moreover, establishment and operation of all customer care centres will be entirely operators’ responsibility, he added. The mobile and PSTN operating companies have welcomed the BTRC decision.

“We welcome the government decision to allow mobile phone operation in CHT. Warid is ready to launch its service at the earliest possible time in compliance with the guidelines put in place by the Government,” said Muneer Farooqui, CEO Warid Telecom.

This approval will put Bangladesh telecommunication sector a step forward, said Mujibur Rahman, Managing Director of Teletalk Bangladesh.