4G and 3G services have been completely stopped around the camps for several years. For which some of the Rohingyas are using Myanmar SIMs which is out of the control of BTRC in Bangladesh. As a result, the government has decided to give mobile sim cards to the Rohingyas.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) completed an investigation and issued a report at the request of law enforcement agencies. They have decided to provide Bangladeshi mobile SIMs to refugees in order to keep them under control and combat the use of Myanmar mobile SIMs in Bangladesh territory, according to daily Ittefaq report.
The report also said that in the matter of providing SIM to the Rohingyas, it has been said that decisions should be made based on the opinion of the relevant ministries, armed forces department, law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Five SIMs cards will be issued for each families based on the documents like FCN database and Smart ID card numbers provided by ministry of home affairs to refugees.
“Operators will arrange separate retailers to sell SIM cards for a specific period in each camp. Rohingya’s unique ID can be linked to the Central Biometric Verification Monitoring Platform (CBVMP) to verify the identity of Rohingya. Rohingyas will be allocated a certain number of the same mobile number series so that mobile operators can easily and quickly identify SIMs. The camp area will be under geo fencing coverage so that Rohingya refugees cannot use SIM outside the camp area”, the report said.
