Dhaka: Citing security reasons, the Bangladesh government has shut down mobile networks along the country’s borders with India, hitting around 10 million subscribers, according to media reports on Tuesday.
The government’s directive to the telecommunication operators came days after India’s Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), causing much concern in Dhaka.
The operators suspended the networks on Monday within one kilometre of the country’s borders with India, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), in its order to telecommunications service providers — Grameenphone, Teletalk, Robi and Banglalink — on Sunday, said network coverage in the border areas should be suspended until further notice “for the sake of the country’s security in the current circumstances”, it said.
Incidentally, border residents of Meghalaya have been known to use Bangladeshi SIM cards for mobile connectivity as network services providers are yet to make provisions for connectivity in the remote regions of the state. (PTI)
