Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) () is an independent commission founded under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act, 2001 (Act no. 18 of 2001). The commission is responsible for regulating all matters related to telecommunications (wire, cellular, satellite and cable) of Bangladesh. The chairman of the commission has the status of a judge of the High Court Division. Since 10 September 2024, Md. Emdad-Ul-Bari has been the chairman of the commission.
History In 1979, the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board was established through the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board Ordinance, 1975. The ordinance was revised in 1995.
The BTRC started operating from 31 January 2002 with a vision of facilitating affordable telecommunication services and increasing the teledensity to at least 10 telephones per 100 inhabitants by 2010. The ordinance was updated with the passage of the Telecommunication Act (Corrected) bill in 2010.
In 2016, the salaries of the commissions and chairman was doubled by the government of Bangladesh.
Censorship In March 2013, BTRC was criticised by the Human Rights Watch and other groups for banning a number of "atheist blogger" websites. Blogs banned by the BTRC included the award-winning popular blogpresent blog page reads: "blog has been withdrawn or cancelled for violating terms and conditions" (transl.) by Asif Mohiuddin, who had been attacked by a machete wielding group in January.
Mohiuddin was arrested the following month,quote: "We call for Mohiuddin’s immediate and unconditional release," Reporters Without Borders said. along with three other bloggers .
Chairmen +Sl No.NameTerm startTerm endReference1.Syed Margub Murshed31 January 200230 January 20052.Muhammad Omar Farooq31 March 200515 March 20073.Major General Manzurul Alam22 April 200710 February 20094.Major General Zia Ahmed26 February 200910 September 20125.Md. Giashuddin Ahmed10 September 201222 October 20126.Sunil Kanti Bose23 October 201223 September 20157.Shahjahan Mahmood24 September 20151 September 20188.Md Jahurul Haque31 January 20194 December 20209.Shyam Sunder Sikder14 December 202011 December 202310.Md Mohiuddin Ahmed11 December 202319 August 202411.Major General (Retd.) Md. Emdad-Ul-Bari10 September 2024
Gallery
See also
Bangladesh Public Service Commission Bangladesh Civil Service Bangladesh Road Transport Authority
References