Palak reiterates banning unregistered handsets

The government move to ban illegally imported or unregistered handsets would help strengthen the local digital device manufacturing industry, said Posts, Telecommunication, and ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak. 

At a views exchange session with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Tuesday, he reiterated that BTRC should ban unregistered handsets. 

"Developed countries are embracing 4IR, which will pose challenges to the future of our apparel exports unless we upgrade," he said, adding, "We should try to attract more investments in digital devices manufacturing and export." 

"To combat the ongoing global economic crisis, the government aims to boost exports, foreign investments and smart employment for the youth," said the state minister. 

All are aligned with the government's Smart Bangladesh vision for building a contactless, transparent, developed economy and a smart, equitable society by 2041, he added. 

Seventeen smartphone assemblers are already operating in Bangladesh and created 50,000 jobs, and stopping illegal imports of smartphones would protect them, help attract investments, more job creation and better law enforcement, he said. 

The unregistered phone debate 

The government in 2021 initiated a move to stop illegal imports of handsets that had been growing in numbers.

The BTRC then set up the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR), which telecom operators use to block usage of mobile handsets.

The NEIR automatically registers the IMEI numbers of all the legal handsets, being locally-assembled or legally-imported.

However, the government later scrapped the decision.

There has been a debate of illegal imports vs personally brought phones from abroad.

According to industry insiders, around three crore handsets being used in the country are either illegally imported – depriving the government of duties – or they remain unregistered because travellers and expatriate Bangladeshis legally bring them from other countries.

A BTRC official, seeking anonymity, recently told The Business Standard that registering unregistered phones with the NEIR database within a stipulated time might be an option ultimately, while the move would certainly block further illegal imports of mobile phones.

Due to the appreciating dollar and high inflation, 4G and 5G smartphone production in the country dropped by a third to 68.48 lakh in 2023, while legal import of the same dropped by nearly 30% to less than 43,000, according to the BTRC.

According to the NEIR user guide, the government allows travellers or expatriates to bring phone sets from abroad and use them locally by registering them online.

People who get such phones as a gift, too, can register their sets online, showing the valid purchase receipt or the passport, visa. 

BTRC Chairman Md Mohiuddin Ahmed, Commissioners Sheikh Reaz Ahmed and Musfiq Mannan Choudhury, and Secretary Nurul Hafiz among other senior BTRC officials attended the meeting.