The internet regulator in Bangladesh is amending a guideline in order to double the duration of storing user data and network usage records by internet service providers (ISPs).

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has already prepared a draft, amending a clause of the ISP Licencing Guideline and sought stakeholder feedback.

Under the current rule, ISPs are required to maintain user history, system failure records, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) traffic data, and bandwidth utilisation records on a daily log basis for a minimum of three months.

These records are accessible upon request from government bodies such as the commission or law enforcement agencies. Additionally, specific records related to particular cases have to be preserved for six months.

But if the draft is approved, ISPs will require to preserve the record for six months, while they have to be stored for an additional six months.

This means ISPs must maintain the data in its active form for a full year, giving authorities greater access to the history of usage information.

ISPs say they will have to make a significant investment to store data for an additional period.

"Every ISP has to buy a server to store the logs of users. So, if the duration extends, we will have to buy an additional server," said Md Emdadul Hoque, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB).

"Now we will have to double the storage capacity of the server."

Depending on the client base, an ISP will bear an additional expenditure of Tk 2 lakh to Tk 10 lakh, he added.

According to him, the time extension for IP logs is not logical.

"If law-enforcement agencies want to look into the IP log of an individual, the records currently available for a period of three months are enough."

There are about 3,000 ISPs in Bangladesh.