Blackberry has finally agreed to set up a decoder in Bangladesh and if implemented, the country’s intelligence agency will have access to monitor subscribers’ information.
BTRC Vice Chairman Gias Uddin Ahmed said that Blackberry had agreed to set up the decoder and has started the process of bringing the necessary equipment.
The decoder will be set up in six months, reported Bonik Barta, a local Bangla Daily. Earlier, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) decided to shut down the Blackberry service, as the company did not respond to its request to set up a decoder server in Bangladesh.
According to the BTRC, the number of Blackberry users in Bangladesh is around 6,200.
The users include the Prime Minister`s Office, Foreign Affairs Ministry, Economic Relations Division, and the US, Canadian and Australian Embassies.
Currently, Grameenphone and Airtel offer the Blackberry services in Bangladesh. Grameenphone launched its service in 2008 while Airtel brought out its own in 2011.
Grameenphone has 4,668 customers while Airtel has 1,661 customers. Bangladesh has 100 million mobile customers.
