Bangladesh Sets Up & India Pulls Up Towers For Signals

BANGLADESHI PHONES FOR INDIAN PEOPLES

SHIB SHANKAR CHATTERJEE
“Welcome to Bangladesh! Grameen Phone wishes you a pleasant stay” or “Dear Beeline subscriber,
Grameen Phone welcomes you to Bangladesh” ….. et cetera. This Short-Message-Service (SMS) flashes on ‘Mobile
Phone’ (MP) not on landing at the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, but, if anyone reaches just near the Indian
International Border Village (IBV) at Indian Northeastern State, specially, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, West
Bengal and Mizoram.
Even, if anyone talks up to the ‘Zero Line’ of the aforesaid international border with a MP, he or she likely
to receive the signal of Bangladesh Grameen Mobile Company Limited (BGMCL) also. In fact, Bangladesh
Grameen Phone or BGMCL’s signal or network is very active and strong than the Indian Cellular Phone Service
(ICPS)s in most of the Indo-Bangla international border areas. The network of the BGMCL or Bangladesh
Cellular Phone Service (BCPS) that spreads up to Indian territory is also causing significant loss of revenue to the
Indian MP providers.
According to the Indian Land Port Development Committee, BCPS is very strong in most of the
international export and import points between the said two nations and brokers often run Subscriber
Identification Module (SIM) cards of BCPS for traders easily. Sometimes, the brokers place a different or
duplicate name or hidden his or her real name and obtain a connection within no time.
Not only that Bangladesh Mobile Phone (BMP) is too cheaper rate and better connection that the Indian
service provider (that is, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited – BSNL). Even, thought the BSNL service is also
available, but, feeble signaling of the BSNL, BMP is very famous among the brokers, traders and the IBV people
on both sides.
On the other hand, the IBV populaces said, “The Indian Union Home Ministry (IUHM) has put the
restriction fearing misuse of the cell phone service by extremists and terrorists normally the said international
border areas”.
“The Northeast India based outfit organizations are regularly using cell phone services of Bangladeshi
companies with ease, this is why, and the IUHM has been restricted use of cell phone service in this particular
international border areas. Not only that after the recovery of multiple SIM cadres of BGMCL from one of the
Indian Manipur State base militant group – United National Liberation Front (UNLF) on 27th September, 2006
at Shillong, the capital of another Eastern Indian State – Meghalaya, who are on their way to the India-
Bangladesh international border, the Government of India has been taken the matter seriously”, pointed out A. K.
Gupta, the chief general manager of BSNL of Northeast Telecom Circle that comprising the others Northeast
Indian States – Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya respectively.
Further, Indian security Agency (ISA)s are refusing to reconsider the ‘ban’ for ‘prepaid cell phone
subscriber’ of the Northern Indian state Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and the Eastern Indian States – Manipur,
Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh to enjoy the roaming facilities outside their respective states for security reasons.
The top officials of the aforesaid agencies however, declared, “No Indian national with the pre-paid
connections of mobile phones can enjoy the roaming facilities in any of these aforementioned states, even, if the
service providers are same across these states also.
Though, as a result of this, we have come to know that everyone (specially, in the eastern Indian State,
Tripura) have used the Bangladeshi mobile phones and the insurgent groups are always using the alternative
technologies like satellite-phone, skype, google-chat et cetera”.
“We can’t stop or restrict BGMCL signals, which are coming to certain international bordering areas of the
Indian Northeast region with Bangladesh. But, it is true that the Government of India prohibits any kind of
(Indian) radio signals for cell-phone services within the 10-kilometres of India-Bangladesh international border
areas. Result : no Indian mobile phone service is available in the above international border areas with
Bangladesh”, admitted an official of Indian Border Security Force (IBSF).
“We are compelled and need to make International Subscriber Dialling (ISD) calls from Bangladesh to
contact friends and families to both side and this is why, we have to bound the cross and re-cross the aforesaid
international border and nothing else”, disclosed Kashem Ali, a resident of Borsora village of West Khashi Hills
district of Meghalaya State, who routinely cross over to the Bangladesh side to make ISD phone calls to his friends
and relatives different parts of India and Bangladesh respectively.
However, International Border Merchants’ Association justified, “To run our export and import business
with Bangladesh, we are forced to take the connection of BGMCL, while the BSNL either fails to meet the
requirements and their very weak service or stop provide connection to the Indian subscriber or customer in fear
of militant and terrorist activities”.
But, IIB argued, “The BGMCL connection is also seen as potential security hazards, though more BGMCL
connection means more loss of revenue for the Indian Government. Apart from this, BSNL and the others Indian
private telecom organization (like Reliance, Bharti Airtel and Hutchison)’s connection are also active within
Bangladesh territory till a particular distance, this is why, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (IMHA) has come

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down heavily on telecom operators, including the Indian Sate-owned BSNL, who are violating the conditions for
obtaining a license.
In this context, IMHA has identified 103-numbers of Base Terminal Station (BTS)s across Indian States,
Punjab, West Bengal, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Nagaland, where
the aforesaid Government and Non Government Companies have been installed their cell sites uncomfortably
close to the international boundary with Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively.
Because, Indian militants, international terrorists, groups anti-national forces, religious fundamental
groups and unscrupulous elements-cum-anti-social activists are misusing the Indian signals, networks and
frequencies along the said porous international borders vehemently.
Indo-Bangla international boundary village areas are always famous for a den of anti-Indian activities like
illegal smuggling, infiltration and religious-fundamental activities, including militancy and terrorism, which is
nothing new. But, recently the aforesaid international border areas are also become heaven of illegal trade, when a
group of smugglers, who conduct and control this kind of clandestine trade by cell-phone (that is, MP). It is by
means of this chief source of communicating passage – MP, the illegal traders operate and regulate this unofficial
business in between India-Bangladesh and India-China in eastern Indian region.
At the beginning, when MP was not in vogue, the said smugglers use ‘Walkie-Talkie’ (WT). But, both fear
and frenzy began to increase, when Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and IBSF have extended their patrolling duty. These
smugglers are so alert and shy that they receive prior information through MPs.
“In Bangladesh, presently, the use of MP has been increasing as days pass by and there are more than 15
lakhs to 17 lakhs MPs are in motion and of them more than 10 lakhs to 12 lakhs ‘Village-Telephone’ (VT). Not only
that even, every year approximately 04 lakhs to 05 lakhs are connected by MPs and in this connection,
Government of Bangladesh earns near about 250 crore to 300 crore rupees from various non-governmental
organizations”, stated BDR officials.
But, most interesting fact is that the inhabitants of Borsora, Kulang, Nonghyllam, Rajaju of West Khashi
Hills District (which are famous for the ‘coal export corridor’) and Nongjri of East Khashi Hills District of the
eastern Indian state, Meghalaya have to cross daily the international border between India and Bangladesh and
keep their foot to the soil of Bangladesh to make a simple phone call to any part of the country (read India), which
is no matter for them. Though, the aforesaid villagers buy their essential commodities from the nearest Indian
towns, semi-towns but, unfortunately, to ‘contact’ to their relatives and others (even, to call Indian Police
personnel), they are compelled to cross over Bangladesh for dial up the phone from the Bangladeshi Public Call
Office (PCO)s.
“In Bangladesh (a foreign country), it may be all calls (general or local call or Standard Trunk Dialing-
STD) to in any place of India are rated on the ISD scale, but we are helpless. It is a common practice here to keep
maintains ‘relation’ with our relatives and others, including making a phone-call to any nearest Police Station, we
have no others alternative way instead of to cross over to the Bangladesh. Sometimes, we are not only face the
wrath of the personnel of the Indian frontier guard, BSFI in this matter but also for a simple phone-call, we pay
the ISD charge, which is Rs. 25 to Rs. 30 per minute (in Bangladesh)”, revealed a local villager, J. C. Diengan.
But, in response to this, the local Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the Indian Meghalaya State
Assembly, Martin Danngo replied, “The Indian Meghalaya State Government has taken the matter seriously and
in this context, the above Government has already provided a section of village peoples (specially, elders) of
Wireless in Local Loop (WILL) phone connections”.
(Author is former BBC, The Statesman, The Times of India & Hindustan Times & The Telegraph, AP, AFP &
PTI Contributor-cum-Photographer of Northeast India/The writer specialises in Northeast Affairs)

References :

1. Bangladeshi Phones for Indian Peoples – by Shib Shankar Chatterjee, News Blaze, (Newswire
Organisation of United States of America [USA]), Dated 05th October, 2009.