State Minister for Post and Telecommunications Tarana Halim on Thursday said mobile operators will have to inform clients regarding compensation for call drops through SMS.

"Mobile users will have to be informed about compensation. The clients may think that they are not getting compensation, if they are not informed. They will have to be informed over SMS," she said.

She made the remark replying to a question from reporters after a meeting with CEOs of mobile phone operators at the Secretariat.

Tarana said, "Accountability will have to be ensured, otherwise clients think there may be loopholes. We don't want to keep any ambiguity here."

Asked about a recent directive regarding compensation for call drops, the junior minister said the instruction is already in effect.

According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 3 percent call drops are permissible.

On January 19 last, BTRC sent a directive to all mobile operators asking them to compensate subscribers to the tune of one minute per call drop or network failure.

UNB/RI