The Association of ICX Operators of Bangladesh on Wednesday urged the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to modernise the Interconnection Exchange system instead of eliminating it.
At a press conference held on Wednesday at the Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium, AIOB leaders said that the ICX system鈥攚hich routes incoming international calls received through International Gateways to mobile and other telephone operators鈥� have been excluded from the draft Telecommunications Rules 2025.聽聽
They warned that the exclusion could negatively impact national security, tax revenue, the future of local entrepreneurs, and the quality of services received by consumers.
AIOB general secretary Aminur Rahman said that the BTRC was set to adopt an 鈥榰nreasonable鈥� policy under the guise of licence reform, which could disrupt the country鈥檚 economic activity and jeopardise employment.
鈥業f implemented, this policy would severely endanger the nation鈥檚 telecom infrastructure, national security, digital sovereignty, and livelihoods of thousands of workers,鈥� he added.
The organisation further claimed that issues such as illegal VoIP, rising call rates, and call drops were not due to ICX, but rather stemmed from the internal network architecture and market dominance of mobile operators.
The speakers said that, in response to BTRC directives in 2024, over Tk1.3 billion had recently been invested in advanced IP technology and SMS interconnection infrastructure鈥攁n investment sufficient to ensure seamless services for the next decade and one that has already created over 500 jobs.
The AIOB also pointed out that Bangladesh currently had over 50 voice service providers, and allowing bilateral interconnections would pave the way for monopoly control by larger operators, pushing smaller ones out of the market鈥攁 move that could lead to government revenue losses, compromise the security of international calls, and trigger a resurgence of illegal VoIP activities.
The press conference was presided over by Telecom Infrastructure Operators of Bangladesh president and AIOB director Mostafizur Rahman.
