Council of advisers meets: Directive to prepare criteria for VoIP licence

A meeting of the council of advisers Saturday decided that government holiday for Bouddha Purnima would be on May 2, subject to moon sighting, instead of May 1, which is also a holiday on account of May Day.

A regular weekly meeting of the council, with Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed in the chair—which made the stocktaking of the interim government’s three-month performance—also approved a proposal for Bangladesh signing and ratifying a UN convention on disabled persons’ rights.

The council asked three ministries—Science and ICT, Information, and Post and Telecommunications- to prepare a comprehensive plan with criteria for getting licence and licensing authority for opening up of VoIP (voice over internet protocol) for its proper utilization. The meeting suggested studying the VoIP of rules of the neighboring countries.

They were asked for submitting the plan “as soon as possible” to the council of advisers, as the matter is seen as urgent.

In recent times, the joint forces in operation against crime and corruption have dismantled some clandestine VoIP businesses as their unauthorized telephony deprived government coffers of revenues. Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim briefed newsmen about the outcome of the meeting of advisory council, where the cabinet division placed a report on outcome and progress of last three months’ meetings of the council of advisers of the present caretaker government.

It was informed that a total of 20 meetings of the council of advisers had taken place since the maiden one on January 14 till March 31 after the present CG assumed power on January 12, 2007. A total of 81 decisions were taken on 60 matters, of which 32 decisions have been implemented, 40 decisions are under implementation process and about the rest nine the council was informed.

So far, three Ordinances have been promulgated, including one in the current month. Seven advisory committees were formed which held 16 meetings.

Members of the Advisory Council attended the meeting at the Chief Adviser’s office.