Regulator BTRC (Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission) has decided to reconsider its cancellation decision if appeals are duly put forth by the 30 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) whose licenses were cancelled on Sunday.
Licenses of 30 ISPs including seven nationwide service providers were cancelled as they failed to apply for renewal after expiry of their authorizations.
According to the Telecom Act-2001 (Amendment 2010), providing telecom and internet services without permission is a punishable offence with provision for three years of rigorous imprisonment or Tk 200 crore as fine.
The BTRC also published a notice in this regard on its website early this week.
BTRC Secretary Sarwar Alam confirmed about the cancellation to The Daily Observer on Monday.
He said, "We've issued notice to the ISPs to pay their dues and continue their services legally, but they did not consider the notification."
The BTRC spokesman, however, assured of reconsidering the cancellation decision if the ISPs apply duly agreeing to its rules and clear up their dues.
"As a regulator, BTRC always consider the users part first. The internet users become victims when any company violates the rules," he observed.
The regulator issued an urgent notice on Sunday asking the firms to stop providing services and clearing up the dues within 10 days.
According to Public Demands Recovery Act-1913, necessary steps including filing of cases can be taken against the ISP companies, the BTRC notice read.