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- 5. MOBILE EXCELLENCE AWARD
- YOUR NOMINEE(S) : POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS DIVISION (PTD) Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology
- Initiation of the Process
- Benefits of the Activity
- End Results and Market Potentials
| 2016 WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards
Nomination Form AWARD CATEGORIES: Awards will be given to individuals, academics, businesses, NGOs, government branches etc., on the basis of particular programs, web sites, strategies of ICT / Internet deployment; i.e. the awards will not be political but technical, honoring use and implementation of technology in accordance with the criteria described below (i.e. a government per se will not be a “winner”, but one of its integrated web sites or services may be). The winners may not necessarily represent the most advanced technology solutions, but should be excellent examples of ICT deployment which have made a difference for the community of interest (whether providing public services, boosting profits or advancing connectivity): Please note that nominees will be judged on the basis of the following criteria and weighting:
5. MOBILE EXCELLENCE AWARD This Award will recognize innovators, leaders, change agents and trend-setters spanning the global mobile ecosystem from lifestyle to technology and entertainment. In a world of new technology and innovations, this award will take into consideration the successful application of mobile technology in areas of humanitarianism, health, mobile social awareness and justice, freedom of expression, sustainable growth, business and commerce, effective delivery of public services and transparency. YOUR NOMINEE(S): POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS DIVISION (PTD) Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Govt. of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh Bangladesh Secretariat Abdul Ghani Road, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh Phone: +88-02-9571446 Email: info@ptd.gov.bd Fax: +88-02-9574445 REASONS FOR NOMINATION (please justify why you think your candidate is qualified): The primary reason for nomination is the successful conduct of a 5-month nationwide drive for and completion of biometric verification, using ICT platforms, of more than 112 million out of about 131 million mobile subscribers in Bangladesh. Implementing all the functionalities and features of the having this integrated and verified database shall certainly open up the possibility to explore the local and global potentials of hardware integration and also this database will act as the base for sustainable ICT policy framework for Bangladesh. Currently, Bangladesh has six mobile phone operators. These are Grameenphone, Robi, Airtel, Banglalink, Teletalk and Citycell. More than 130 million of Bangladesh’s 160 million people have mobile phone SIMs until now. Of them, 52.5 million have internet connections. The initiatives to verify subscribers’ information and SIM re-registration were taken recently after allegations that many of the SIMs was either registered under fake names or unregistered. Criminals and terrorists have been reportedly using many of these SIMs. After the process to crosscheck subscribers’ information with the National Identity Registration Wing’s server started, it was found that around 75 percent of the 10 million SIM cards verified until now were ‘not registered properly’. Only 2.34 million SIMs were registered properly. A case of 14,000 SIMs purchased against a single ‘fake’ NID card also came to light during the process. Three more NIDs were found to have been used to register between 6,000 and 11,000 SIMs from different operators. At this stage, Post and Telecommunications Division (PTD), in Bangladesh planned to introduce the system for SIM registration with biometric data. It was started on 16 December of 2015 and was completed by 31 May 16. Biometric Verification The Law Enforcement Authorities (LEAs), on the other hand, due to increasing abuse of mobile phone service faced a pressing need for identifying the users. It was after the National ID (NID) had made acceptable penetration that the Government in late 2014 decided to once again undertake a drive for verifying and re-registering the SIM users with the help of NID Database (NIDDB). The entire process required technical integration of ICT platforms including software, database, servers, and networks among Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), National Identity Registration Wing (NIDRW), Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), distributors, and retailers; legal and procedural coordination; dissemination of information and nationwide awareness building efforts; and financial investments. Initiation of the Process PTD provided prudent guidance and persuasive leadership to the entire drive, and developed the much needed teamwork. BTRC provided required directives for and closely coordinated execution of the drive by all 6 MNOs and their 120 thousand retailers. NIDRW provided the real-time online verification service to the Operators, and also helped rectifying erroneous data through its 514 outlets all over the country. System Design There were extensive consultations among PTD, BTRC, all MNOs, the Association of Mobile Telephone Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB), NIDRW, and the LEAs in order to find a suitable, effective, and sustainable process of verification. Although NID Database (NIDDB) today holds data, including fingerprints, of about 100 million people, which is more than 95 per cent of the adult population, the NID Card till date is not verifiable at Point of Sale (POS). A sample test carried out by matching the data of about 10 million users with that stored in NIDDB revealed that 67 per cent users were registered with fake NIDs, and also that there were many NIDs against each of which thousands of SIMs were registered. Using fingerprints at POS for verification with NIDDB was therefore considered apposite. As per the consensus-based plan, MNOs rolled out about 120 thousand Biometric Verification Devices in the country, which means one Device per 1.2 sq. km area, and connected them to NIDDB through their own platforms. Sharing the Devices among all MNOs without discrimination was made mandatory to avoid smaller MNOs being squeezed out. Required measures were incorporated in the systems to ensure protection of personal data. Verification Process Biometric verification is made mandatory for registration, re-registration, and replacement of a SIM. For the verification, a retailer at the POS needs to input the customer’s verifiable data such as NID Number, DOB, etc. and capture fingerprints through the Biometric Verification Device. The data is then matched in real time with that stored in NIDDB, and only after getting a positive result the verification is completed. There is no extra charge or fee to be paid by customers for verification itself. A user in Bangladesh can register up to 20 SIMs in his/her name, but needs to repeat the verification process for registering each SIM. SIMs for children under 18 years of age are registered in their guardian’s name. Verification Drive A month-long test run of the system was conducted through only the customer care centers of the MNOs after required personnel were trained. December 16, the National Victory Day of Bangladesh, was selected as the D Day for commencing registration of new SIMs following the biometric verification process. Similarly, mandatory re-registration was planned from February 1, 2016, and it was to be completed by April 30, 2016. Only 26 per cent of the verification attempts were successful in the beginning of the test run. Several causes were identified besides a few technical ones. Fingerprint mismatch was responsible for half of the failure. Many of the Devices could not capture fingerprints efficiently, while some fingerprints at NIDDB also lacked the quality. Many agents at POS still lacked both skill and experience. Erroneous entry of data, particularly related to the date format, caused a quarter of the failure, and either wrong data furnished by the customer or back dated data in the NIDDB accounted for the rest. To improve the situation, the inefficient Devices were immediately replaced. MNOs undertook extensive programs to train all the agents, and later all the retailers. To increase the probability of matching, four fingerprints were captured instead of one and matched on the basis of one-to-one, not one-to-many; the verification result was based on the best match. Customers were directed to and helped at the nearest NIDRW outlet for updating their data. The rate of successful matching stood more than 90 per cent by the end of the month. The main drive also faced other challenges. Rolling out desired number of Devices took longer time as many of those had to be replaced. Besides, after retailers all over the country got involved in the process, the success rate dropped again for a brief period. Many retailers remained unaware of the whole procedure for a considerable period. Although the rate of failure continued to be less than 10 percent, the cumulative number gradually exceeded 10 million. Most of the customers, however, succeeded after a few attempts, but many did not. More than 500 NIDDB outlets strived to rectify and update data including fingerprints. Especial arrangements were made for those who did not have fingers. Those who were not in possession of a valid NID were also allowed to register SIMs with passport, driving license, or the Birth Certificate, but in such cases the SIM would remain active for only six months if the customer fails to produce NID within this period. Foreigners, off course, could register SIMs with their passports for the valid duration of stay in Bangladesh. The verification drive initially progressed slowly, primarily because the awareness-building efforts were inadequate. Besides, there was also uncertainty about a tax on SIM. Tax is applicable for a new or replacement SIM, but the National Board of Revenue (NBR) implied the same for change of identity of the SIM user. As correcting the identity of users was the principle purpose of the drive, and most identities were expected to change in the process, the Ministry of Finance waived off the tax in case of re-registration during this drive. Soon the verification process appeared to be effective and the progress of verification gained momentum, only to be impeded again by a counter-move. One of the citizens filed a writ petition in the High Court, questioning the legality of using biometrics for SIM registration. Mass and social media hosted a series of debates. Apparently some people were concerned and some agnostic about privacy issues, but it was generally believed that the move was made by people with ulterior motives, and allusions were made especially to those who were still involved in illegal VOIP business in the country. In spite of the presence of similar debates about it in many parts of the world, the use of biometrics is increasing in the digital domain primarily because of the convenience it provides in identifying people speedily and accurately. About half a billion people in the world, for example, are using biometrics for banking services. It is no surprise that the High Court of Bangladesh dismissed the writ after a deliberate scrutiny of the biometric verification process. It was only after that the awareness-building campaign by both BTRC and MNOs got momentum, and so did the progress of verification. Customers faced yet other difficulties. Although the retailers were given incentives for each successful verification, many of them started illegally charging fees from customers. Some uncanny retailers have also tried to register multiple SIMs in the name of an inattentive customer by deceitfully portraying that his previous attempts to register had failed. BTRC monitored with its limited capability and relied more on the MNOs, and also involved the LEAs at times. On the other hand, MNOs arranged special care for physically challenged customers, at times even reaching out to their doors. The cue of customers got longer as the target date of completion drew nearer, and the time of waiting in the cue grew harder with the mounting April summer. On top of that, the verification system became overloaded during most of the last two days. The pouring crowd and the harsh weather might have insisted the government to finally extend the drive up to May 31, 2016. Benefits of the Activity The benefits of biometric SIM registration are many. It will ensure the overall development of the country and the nation. All types of corruption and crimes will be strongly checked. It will save people’s time and money and make people more enterprising. It will connect people with the whole world socially, culturally, economically, and even politically. It will allow people to think globally and communicate with the whole world. It will improve banking system and financial activities of the country. The main advantage of implementing biometric SIM registration in Bangladesh is accountability. Criminals and fraudsters cannot get away with a crime (fake BKash agent calls and similar fraud ways of skimming money of general people, or ransom calls or threats). This is surely a pro. A lot of us do have concerns about the privacy, but the technology does not work the way many of us think. First, it’s important to realize that most fingerprint scanners available today in the market do not store a raw image of a fingerprint. Instead, they interpret a digital representation of certain characteristics of your fingerprint, which is called a template. To put it in an easier way, it saves the fingerprint as binary digits, not as a raw image. Every biometric scanner manufacturer has their own algorithm for creating these templates and most of them are not compatible with each other. Therefore, it’s nearly impossible to steal and use someone’s biometric template to access their accounts across all platforms. Just for the sake of argument, even if a hacker does get access to the digital template of your fingerprint, it is nearly impossible to reverse engineer and use that to recreate the actual fingerprint — or any other modality of biometrics being used, as every system uses different algorithms for interpreting this data. Biometric SIM registration will provide following benefits: Using Biometrics to Prevent Fraud and Protect Identities: Use of biometrics is growing because our fingerprints, faces, irises, and voices have truly special properties that make them an effective barrier to frauds attempting to surreptitiously impersonate us. They are useful because unlike names, ID numbers, email addresses, and passwords, they are comparatively more unique, secret, permanent, consistent and difficult to reproduce. Biometric authentication from a smart phone or computer essentially uses our biometrics like a password that is unique to us and cannot be practically transferred or stolen and then reproduced. Biometrics makes fraudulent impersonation extremely difficult. Biometrics is a Strong Tool for Authentication: From the perspective of a bank, government agency, or any organization aiming to broadly reduce its exposure to identity fraud, a more universal approach is needed to have a broad impact. Biometric authentication on smart phones and other devices is effective and particularly useful to their owners to prevent their fraudulent use; biometrics is the password of the future. But from the perspective of a bank, government agency, or any organization aiming to broadly reduce its exposure to identity fraud, a more universal approach is needed to have a broad impact. Biometric Identity Proof Ensures Data Integrity: Biometrics allows us to permanently bind ourselves physically to digital information; a powerful capability that enables us to not only biometrically authenticate, but also to biometrically duplicate that is to determine through biometric search whether someone is surreptitiously attempting to establish a false identity. Said another way, identity proof with biometric search helps to assure the integrity of our identity data that one identity represents each person, that each person has only one identity, and that the identity data associated with a biometric can be trusted. A biometric search yields a match to an identity with different information than what is being claimed, there is reason for further investigation. This is the idea behind biometric identity proofing; a means to combat identity theft at its source by ensuring the integrity of identity data at the point of enrollment. End Results and Market Potentials During this drive, a total of 112.12 million SIM users out of 130.8 million were verified through the Biometric Verification Process. While the process continues, the unverified SIMs were de-activated on June 1st, 2016, though many of those were immediately re-activated as the users are allowed to re-activate the de-activated SIMs after the biometric verification. But, the SIM Tax would be applicable in this case. Moreover, to particularly facilitate the Non-Resident Bangladeshi people, a user is allowed to re-activate such SIMs within 18 months from the deactivation of the SIM. As a result, government will be able to ensure fare competition in the mobile phone industry. It would also apprehend the proliferation of illegal call routing using unidentified SIM, thus contribution to the growth in telecommunication revenue for the government. Recommendations We recommend PTD for the successful operation of conducting of this five months long nationwide drive of biometric verification, using ICT platforms, of more than 112 million out of about 131 million mobile subscribers in Bangladesh. This operation will help in many spheres of the country especially in telecom, law and order, process simplification and above all stream lining of various departments of major stake holders. This department has done a remarkable job and helped the relevant stake holders and its benefits will lead to couple of other ICT and telecom services which we shall be able to unfold in the days to come. SUPPORTING INFORMATION: Please send any supporting information to the address above, including information from candidate (i.e. excerpt from program description, web site print-out, press release, etc.) www.ptd.gov.bd www.btrc.gov.bd www.nidw.gov.bd Nominations from Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) Page / Directory: wp-content -> uploads -> 2016 2016 -> 2017 afoCo Landmark Scholarship Program 2016 -> Instructions for the Preparation of Camera-Ready Contributions to the Conference Proceedings 2016 -> Step student Scholarships for Year 10-13 2016 -> The united church of canada 2016 -> Idan raichel biography – May 2016 Brief Producer, keyboardist, Lyricist, composer and Performer Idan Raichel 2016 -> An introduction to centre’s interventions expanding access to justice 2016 -> Sanchar Shakti 2016 -> Unit analysis should help here. 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