Editorial
Cracking down on cell phone crimes
But let it not affect expansion of mobile networks
It is certainly makes sense for the government to crack down on cell phone crimes through tightening the rules about the use of mobile phones in the country. Why such a step has been so long in coming is rather surprising, given that efforts have been underway since 2006 to check the misuse of cell phones, especially in the matter of utilizing them for criminal activity. More worryingly, we fail to understand why the authorities have till now been unable to ensure a foolproof registration of mobile phone users despite the fact that it is not really hard to do the job. In the recent past, much concern has been expressed about the threats that individuals and organizations have been receiving from unscrupulous and nefarious elements. Needless to say, these threats have generally centred around demands for money. These criminal elements have been rather active in trying to extort money through their faceless threats to people and organizations that are generally known to be well off economically.
It is in such a context that these cell phone threats need to be curbed through addressing the security issue that people have faced of late. A particular point we would like to raise here is that in these times there are standard tracking devices that have proved highly effective in hunting down those prone to abusing cell phones. We believe these tracking devices can easily be employed in nabbing the elements who have been hurling threats of various sorts to people.
All said and done, there must be a caveat where the planned steps in the cell phone scene are concerned. For, indeed if there are some areas where we can justifiably compare ourselves with the rest of the world, one of the first points that come to mind is the mobile phone. It has to do with the fact that the mobile phone has been an extremely significant element in promoting and developing people-to-people connectivity across the globe as well as within the country. For Bangladesh, the mobile revolution (if one may call it that) has been highly beneficial in that it has helped us to keep in touch with such global business centres as the Americas and Europe. Internally, marketing forces of demand and supply have been greatly bolstered through mobile networking.
We can safely suggest, given the varied productive uses these phones have been put to, that the growth of the cell phone network can claim a place at the top of our list of achievements. It has many other possibilities that are waiting to be utilised. In a word, let security concerns be not allowed to overtake the agenda for expansion of mobile networks. The need to apprehend cell phone criminals, who are clearly a minority of mobile phone users, must not clash with the bigger job of ensuring a continuity and relentless expansion of the mobile phone network in our dealings with one another and with the rest of the world.
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