One lakh users of SIMs of different mobile operators entered the capital city of Dhaka during the quota reform protests that turned violent since July 16, leaving at least 200 people dead so far.
The presence of these SIMs were found largely in some specific areas where violence and mayhem took place.
It is believed that these SIM users gathered here from different districts of the country to carry out vandalism and arson attacks in Dhaka.
State Minister for Post, Telecommunications and Information and Communications Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak shared the information in reply to a question at the Post Office building in Agargaon on Saturday.
He said attacks were carried out in 17 locations under Dhaka division. The mobile operator data revealed that 50,000 to one lakh SIM-card holders entered different areas like Uttara, Rampura, Mohammadpur, Jatrabari, and Gazipur.
When this correspondent tried to contact Director General of System and Service Department of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Brig Gen Mohammad Khalil-Ur-Rahman, he did not answer the call.
However, Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers' Association President Mohiuddin Ahmed told Bangladesh Post that even though the presence of a large number of people were found through SIM cards in violence-hit areas, the authorities concerned must ensure how many of them are not using illegal SIM cards.
The state minister also made it clear that the government did not shut down internet. Internet outage was caused by arson attacks on data centres, resulting in a loss of Tk 500 crore in the telecom sector.
According to sources concerned, the systems of 18 IIGs were stored at three data centres in Mohakhali having 70 percent of ISP servers. Terror attacks on data centres caused internet disruption in the country, Palak added.
While replying to another query from journalists about a steep fall in the remittance inflow, the state minister said that some people think the government will step down if remittances are stopped, but they don’t know that it will only harm their families and hinder the development of the country.
The minister also said that mobile internet services would resume soon. A meeting with Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) is scheduled to take place on Sunday (today). “If the meeting is held fruitfully, 4G mobile network services will be restored by Sunday or Monday.”
BTRC Chairman Engr. Mohiuddin Ahmed highlighted the telecommunications sector's progress over the past 15 years. Despite ongoing repairs to some cache servers, the sector is expected to recover within a few days. Over 4,000 cache servers in Bangladesh need restoration, including Google’s servers.
ISPAB President Imdadul Haque emphasized that internet access is a fundamental right. Attacks on servers and cables in Mohakhali caused internet disruptions, but services are gradually being restored.
He further said that 90 percent of issues have been resolved, and broadband internet services will return to normal operation soon.
