Illegal phones cost Tk 2,000 crore in lost revenue a year; NEIR to return in two phases from January 1

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has taken a major initiative to stop the loss of around Tk 2,000 crore in revenue every year through the illegal production, smuggling and unauthorised sale of mobile phones. Under the plan, the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) will be relaunched in two phases from January 1 next year.

The BTRC believes effective implementation of the system will make it possible to detect cloned handsets and prevent fraud in mobile financial services (MFS). According to an assessment by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the government loses around Tk 2,000 crore in revenue every year because of illegal mobile phones; the figure was mentioned in a working paper presented at a BTRC commission meeting.

Under the plan, the core functions of NEIR will be launched in the first phase. However, the provision for cancelling handset registration will not be enforced at this stage. Handsets currently active on mobile operators' networks will be registered automatically.

Alongside this, the IMEI numbers of unsold handsets held by authorised importers and local manufacturers will also be included in the system. There will also be arrangements to identify and block illegal handsets brought in from abroad, phones that entered through smuggling, and handsets marketed by evading duties and taxes.

In the second phase, the provision for cancelling handset registration will be introduced at an appropriate time. Through this, the goals have been set to verify phone ownership, detect cloned handsets and prevent financial fraud.

At the BTRC commission meeting, the director general of the regulator's Spectrum Management (SM) division presented a detailed working paper on relaunching NEIR. The SM division will implement the plan. An official letter will be sent to the Posts and Telecommunications Division to obtain the government's prior approval for launching the system in two phases.

The working paper said that after a trial launch on July 1, 2021, the then government decided not to activate the key functions of automatically blocking illegally imported phones and preventing cloned handsets. As a result, the main purpose of establishing NEIR had remained obstructed.

Various agencies have long been urging a full launch of NEIR to stop revenue evasion, ensure discipline in the telecommunications sector and address security risks. On October 29, 2024, the NBR formally requested the BTRC to take measures to stop revenue evasion through illegal handsets.

Later, on June 28, 2025, the Posts and Telecommunications Division gave preliminary approval to the plan to relaunch the system. On December 1 of the same year, a high-level inter-ministerial meeting directed that NEIR be fully launched across all networks in the country.

However, although preparations were in place to launch the system on January 1, 2026, the key functions of blocking phones were not enforced at that time, considering the need to avoid public suffering. Later, on June 9, 2026, security agencies, in an official letter, highlighted economic and national security risks and stated the need for a full launch of NEIR.

On July 2 of the same year, an inter-ministerial meeting on IMEI, SIM registration and the risk of fraud in mobile financial services also recommended a full launch of the system. Most recently, on September 22, a high-level meeting chaired by the home minister was attended by representatives of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, Bangladesh Bank and law enforcement agencies; the meeting recommended launching NEIR in two phases from January 1, 2027.

The related decision said unregistered, stolen and cloned handsets are being used in organised crime, mobile phone theft and fraud in mobile financial services. Security agencies believe NEIR needs to be fully launched to ensure the identity and accountability of every device used on the network.

In addition, the BTRC has approved a phased roadmap to end the use of mobile handsets that support only second-generation (2G) networks by December 2029. Under this plan, restrictions will be imposed on the approval, production, import and marketing of such phones.

All in all, those concerned believe that if this two-phase plan, starting from January 1, is implemented, the market for illegal handsets will take a major hit. The plan also speaks of keeping an eye on ensuring that ordinary customers do not face increased suffering.