State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat on Tuesday said only legal cable and Direct To Home (DTH) operators will be able to transmit feeds of government-approved domestic and foreign television channels to subscribers.

"It is unlawful and illegal if anyone else does this outside of them. The government will take legal action to stop this illegal activity," he said.

Arafat said: "Due to this illegal activity, the government loses revenue and money is laundered abroad in various ways. At the same time, the security of the country is disturbed."

He made the comments following a meeting with Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry on "Taking legal measures to stop the illegal broadcasting of local and foreign television channels" in the conference room of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry at the Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon.

State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Information and Broadcasting Ministry's Senior Secretary Md. Humayun Kabir Khandaker, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commissioner (BTRC) Chairman Engr. Md. Mohiuddin Ahmed, officials of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministry joined the meeting.

Arafat said illegal broadcasting of foreign channels hampers the implementation of clean feed, an initiative taken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to stop airing advertisements on foreign channels.

This law will be implemented in the interest of the people of Bangladesh, he said.

The state minister for information and broadcasting said the government and people of Bangladesh are facing loss because of those who are broadcasting channels illegally through illegal set top boxes and broadcasting channels with advertisements as per their wish without ensuring clean feed.
 
In this case, the government will take legal measures through the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology and BTRC.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak said the BTRC will intensify its operations against illegal marketing and import of set-top boxes.

"We want to send a strong warning as no one can illegally import set top boxes and carry out marketing of those. We are taking a strong stand against these illegal activities in the interest of Bangladesh's security, increasing the revenue earning, preventing money laundering abroad and conserving our art, literature, culture and values," he said.
 
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology are jointly taking a strong stance to this end, Palak said.