HC bans mobile call rate hike, call drop charge

The High Court today issued a ban on hiking the mobile call rate and charge for call drop from subscribers.

The court also directed the government to form a committee to determine the call rate.

It also issued a rule asking the government and the mobile phone operators to explain in four weeks why hiking mobile charge without soliciting opinions from the subscribers should not be declared illegal.

The HC bench of Justice Tariqul Hakim and Justice Md Suhrawardy came up with the order and rule following a writ petition.

Law Reporters Forum Members M Badiuzzaman and Mahedi Hasan Dalim, Mobile Phone Subscribers Association President Mohiduddin Ahmed and Supreme Court lawyer Rashedul Hasan submitted the petition.

In the petition, they prayed to the HC to direct the authorities concerned to form a committee to decide financial compensation for mobile call drop and to issue a ban on sending disturbing SMS.

The petitioners said the mobile phone operators -- Grameenphone, Robi, Airtel, Banglalink and Teletalk -- increased the mobile call rate without taking subscribers' opinion which is illegal and against their rights.

The mobile operators have dropped mobile calls for a total 222 crore times till September 2017 to September 2018, according to a report of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

The mobile operators were supposed to compensate the subscribers regarding the call drops but they did not do so, the report said.