The telecom regulator yesterday asked Grameenphone to pay Tk 30 crore in fine within the next 10 days for providing broadband internet service by flouting rules through its sister concern Go Broadband.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission slapped the fine last week.

In April 2014, Grameenphone launched Go Broadband, a Wi-Max service provider, in partnership with ISP operators ADN Telecom Ltd and Agni Systems Ltd.

And in December of that year, Go Broadband signed an agreement with Sonali Bank to provide internet service to 551 branches.

But in the actual documents that were signed, there was no mention of ADN Telecom Ltd and Agni Systems Ltd. In fact, the agreement was signed between Grameenphone and Sonali Bank, though Grameenphone does not have the permission to provide broadband service.

“Mobile operators can't run internet broadband service like ISPs. Our calculation found they made Tk 30 crore in the last two years under this service and we asked them to pay it as an administrative fine,” BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood told The Daily Star yesterday.

Besides, the timescale for which BTRC gave the approval to the Go Broadband venture had expired by the time the agreement was signed with Sonali Bank.

Mobile operators are allowed to build optical/wired backbone transmission network only if the nationwide telecommunication transmission network operators do not have the infrastructure.

But Grameenphone built optical/wired backbone transmission network while providing service to Sonali Bank and violated the infrastructure sharing guideline, BTRC said in a letter to the operator yesterday.

Grameenphone also failed to comply with the relevant guideline and directives of the BTRC's infrastructure and facility sharing.

So the commission directed the operator to pay the full amount of fine within 10 days of receipt of the notice.

The telecom regulator's move against Go Broadband came following a complaint filed by the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh to the BTRC in February.

The telecom watchdog also fined ADN and Agni Systems Tk 5 lakh each for the same incident.

“We have received the letter from the regulator and are now in the process of assessing the legality of the direction to decide on our next step,” said Grameenphone.

“We would, however, like to reiterate that the Go Broadband service was initiated with permission from the relevant authorities and under a valid partnership structure.”