The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has warned 16 vehicle tracking service (VTS) providers for failing to submit server details, and asked them to explain within seven working days why their operations should not be stopped.
The companies were asked to provide their company names, domain names, public IP addresses, server locations and server-provider details, after failing to submit this information when first requested.
In a letter issued on 27 August by BTRC’s Engineering and Operations Division, the commission said it had sought the information by email on 7 July, with a submission deadline of 8 July, which the companies missed.
The request is significant because VTS providers handle sensitive vehicle-location data. The technology can continuously collect information about a vehicle’s location and movement, which can reveal detailed patterns of an individual’s or organisation’s activities.
The 16 companies are NITS Service (Pvt) Ltd, Monico Technologies Limited, IFAD Information and Technology Ltd, Solution World Limited, Global Software Architects, AUTO AC BD, Premium Connectivity Ltd, Azan Tech (Pvt) Ltd, Sun City Biz, Bongo Technology Ltd, Peerex Networks Ltd, Tracking BD (GPS Tracker Bangladesh), MYGPS Private Ltd, M/s V Track Solution, Live Technologies Ltd and Decipher Zone.
Policy uncertainty
The issue comes amid uncertainty over the future of VTS licensing, following a policy decision to deregulate the sector and its subsequent reconsideration.
The Telecommunications Network and Licensing Policy 2025 provided for deregulating VTS’s separate licensing and registration categories, but this may not necessarily hold in the new licensing framework being prepared in 2026.
Industry stakeholders have raised concerns over the implications of deregulation, particularly around data security and operator accountability. Whether VTS licensing will ultimately be retained, removed, or replaced with another mechanism such as enlistment or registration remains unclear.
Managing Director of Onesky Limited and VTSPAB vice-president Rashedur Rahman Rajon said the absence of a clear licensing or regulatory framework could make it difficult to ensure the security and accountability of such data. “There will certainly be no guarantee of security. A tracker device essentially provides a person’s complete activity — where they are going and where they are not,” he said.
He said the existing licensing system holds service providers accountable: NSI clearance was required before entering the business, and licences were issued only after that scrutiny. “So, I have accountability,” Rajon said.
Removing licensing could let virtually anyone enter the business by importing tracking devices and installing them in vehicles, he said, citing the example of an individual businessperson fitting trackers in CNG-run vehicles — a scenario in which authorities could struggle to identify the operator, seek information from them, or obtain tracking data when needed.
Rajon said the final regulatory arrangement could only be determined once the new guideline is passed. “This is still a confidential matter of the government, and it has not yet been communicated to us,” he said, adding that the 2025 policy decision should not be treated as a final indication that VTS licensing has already disappeared.
Server data localisation dispute deepens
Rajon said BTRC’s request for information from the 16 companies was within its authority as the telecom regulator, noting that operators’ licences state the regulator can ask for any data or information at any time.
He added that companies that had not submitted the requested information, or had received notices over it, should inform BTRC or submit it immediately.
Rajon, vice-president of the industry association, said VTS operators affiliated with it had increasingly moved their server infrastructure to Bangladesh, with all members now doing so. He said some companies may initially have used foreign hosting or software when VTS licensing was first introduced, when concerns over local data storage were less prominent, but the licensing guidelines later required local servers, prompting operators to relocate their infrastructure. “Now, if BTRC asks for information about that, we must prove that our server is in the country,” he said.
Asked how operators could guarantee confidentiality if their servers remained outside Bangladesh, Rajon said they could not, as confidentiality cannot be guaranteed once data is kept outside the country.
The new licensing framework will also need to determine how vehicle-location data is protected, who is accountable for its handling, and responsibility in cases of data leaks, misuse or unauthorised access.
The regulatory debate comes as Bangladesh’s VTS market still has room to grow: only around 5 per cent of nearly 5.8 million registered vehicles currently use tracking services, against a market estimated at $25 million and growing about 8 per cent a year.
A more accessible regulatory framework could draw new entrants, sharpen competition, and expand VTS use in fleet management, logistics, transportation and vehicle security.
