BTRC conducts public hearing via Convay

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has, for the first time, conducted its national public hearing entirely through Convay, a locally developed video-conferencing platform, marking a new milestone for domestic technology adoption in key government processes.

The sixth annual hearing, streamed from the BTRC headquarters in Dhaka recently, allowed participants from districts and upazilas across the country to join without travelling to the capital.

Citizens raised concerns on mobile network quality, call drops, internet speed and stability, value-added services, unsolicited promotional SMS, data pricing, customer service hurdles and rural-urban network disparities.

Policy-makers and sector insiders described the use of a sovereign Bangladeshi platform as a significant step towards secure, transparent and inclusive public consultations. They said the move strengthens data sovereignty while expanding citizen participation nationwide.

Presided over by BTRC Vice-Chairman Md Abu Bakar Siddique, the session was conducted by Brigadier General Md Aminul Haque, director general of the Legal & Licensing and Spectrum Division.

Officials from the Posts and Telecommunications Division, mobile operators, ISPs, sector bodies and media were present. The session link was opened 30 minutes beforehand, and anyone registering was able to join.

BTRC representatives responded to questions in real time, and all comments and complaints were documented for future policy consideration.

Officials said Convay functioned with stable audio-video quality throughout, with smooth management of speakers, queuing, microphone control, time management, screen sharing and session recording.

Developed by Synesis IT PLC, Convay is an end-to-end encrypted, multi-factor authenticated and role-based access-controlled platform, with all data stored within secure local infrastructure.

With the capacity to host several thousand concurrent participants, it has already been used for major national and international events, including virtual meetings linked to G20 and various government training programmes.

Technology experts noted that Convay's capabilities rival established global platforms

and that the Bangladeshi solution is already gaining traction in Africa, the Americas and Australia.

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