Starting a Call Centre or BPO in Bangladesh: Registration, Deregulation and Operating Requirements

Call centre licence Bangladesh: the position in late 2026

The call centre licence Bangladesh entrepreneurs have applied for since 2013 is not a licence at all but a BTRC registration certificate, and the Telecommunications Network and Licensing Policy 2025 has now marked that registration for deregulation. The change is real but not yet complete. Existing registrations run to the end of their terms under the 2013 Instructions, the replacement mechanism has not been published, and the conditions that shaped how centres were built, from fixed premises to the ban on remote agents, still bind every registered operator.[1] [2]

This guide answers one question: what a business needs before it opens and operates a call centre or BPO in Bangladesh in late 2026. It compares outsourced, in-house, domestic, international and hosted centres; separates new entrants from existing registrants; explains connectivity, locations, additional sites and remote agents; and identifies which legacy requirements still apply during the transition. Connectivity pricing, privacy and client contracts are covered in sibling guides, which we link rather than repeat.

Summary: Outsourced call centres and BPOs in Bangladesh have operated under a five-year BTRC registration certificate issued under the 2013 BPO/Call Center Instructions, while in-house centres serving their own domestic customers needed none. The 2025 licensing policy deregulates the call centre registration category on expiry of current terms and moves basic oversight to licensed access network operators. Until BTRC publishes the implementing framework, registered centres must keep complying with the 2013 conditions, and new entrants should confirm the current filing position with BTRC before committing to premises and connectivity.

Key point: Deregulation removes the need for a registration certificate, not the rules on how voice traffic may flow. A call centre still cannot terminate international calls into domestic networks, cannot resell telephony, and must buy connectivity only from licensed operators, who under clause 9.1 of the 2025 policy become responsible for basic compliance and monitoring of the centres they serve.[1] [2]

At a glance

Swipe or scroll →

Table of Contents

Call centre licence Bangladesh: what the law actually requires

Three layers of law decide whether a call centre needs anything from the regulator. The first is the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act 2001. Section 35 requires a licence to establish or operate a telecommunication system or to provide a telecommunication service, and section 31 gives the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) power to issue licences, permits and other authorisations.[4] A call centre that answers customers on behalf of a client is a user of telecom services, not a provider of them, which is why BTRC chose a light registration rather than a licence.

The second layer is the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation (Licensing) 2022, effective from 16 March 2022, which lists call centres among the services that receive a registration certificate rather than a licence, alongside telecom value-added services, radio equipment importers, vendor enlistment and application-to-person messaging.[5] The third layer is the operating rulebook itself: BTRC's Instructions for Issuance of Registration Certificate for the Operation of BPO/Call Center (International and Domestic), dated 18 September 2013 and still published on BTRC's licensing portal.[2] [3]

Why the word "licence" persists

Before 2013, call centres held licences. The 2013 Instructions replaced them with registration, required existing licensees to deposit their licences with the Commission, and applied the new terms to them, except the licence acquisition fee.[2] Market usage never caught up. The industry association BACCO has said that around 450 licences were issued in a single round and only about 150 operators remained active, partly because many applicants read the authorisation as permission to run a calling shop rather than a customer service business.[9] That misunderstanding is the root of most enforcement risk in this sector.

Where this guide sits in the series

The 2025 reform restructured every telecom licence category; the migration of licences and the 2027 soft cut-off are explained in our guide to telecom licensing reform in Bangladesh. The broader statute is covered in our overview of telecommunications law in Bangladesh, and BTRC licence categories, fees and renewals in our BTRC licence guide. This article deals only with what a call centre or BPO needs to open and operate.

Which call centre models need registration

The 2013 Instructions define a call centre broadly, as a facility used to manage client contact by telephone, fax, letter, email and online live chat, and expressly include hosted call centres (HCC) and hosted call centre service providers (HCCSP).[2] All kinds of BPO and call centre services can be carried on under one registration.[2] What triggers registration is not the activity but the relationship: whether the centre serves someone else's customers.

Outsourced BPO and contact centres

An outsourced provider handling customer support, technical support, telemarketing or back-office work for a client is the core case. The Instructions apply only to services outsourced to call centre operators by another party.[2] Registration is open to proprietorships, partnerships and companies or joint venture companies formed under Bangladeshi law, so a foreign group must operate through a locally registered vehicle; see our guide to foreign company registration in Bangladesh.[2]

In-house customer support

Clause 3.5 is the most valuable sentence in the regime: any entity that itself operates a call centre for its own customers within the country does not require registration.[2] A bank, telco, e-commerce platform or hospital running its own helpline is outside the regime. The exemption is narrower than it looks. It covers the entity's own customers, inside Bangladesh. A group shared-service centre in Dhaka answering calls for an overseas parent's customers is serving another party's customers abroad and should be treated as outsourced unless BTRC confirms otherwise.

Domestic and international centres

The Instructions distinguish domestic centres, which serve callers inside Bangladesh, from international centres, which serve overseas clients and their customers. Both can be run under a single registration, but the technical rules differ sharply, and the two networks must not be interconnected.[2] Running both on the same equipment is permitted only with the Commission's prior permission and a proper monitoring system.[2]

Hosted call centres

A hosted model, where one provider runs the platform and others use it, sits inside the same registration through the HCC and HCCSP categories. Any call centre or BPO may use another centre's infrastructure only with the Commission's prior permission, and operators may not extend their services to other call centre operators.[2] Whether a cloud contact-centre vendor is itself a telecom service provider is a separate classification question, analysed in our guide to cloud PBX and hosted platforms in Bangladesh.

The 2025 policy: deregulation of call centre registration

The Telecommunications Network and Licensing Policy 2025 was approved by notification dated 18 September 2025 and published in the Bangladesh Gazette Extraordinary on 22 September 2025, repealing the ILDTS Policy 2010 with immediate effect.[1] Clause 9.1 provides that the NIX, call centre, telecom value-added service and vehicle tracking licence and registration categories "shall be deregulated".[1] The draft published in April 2025 had already proposed removing licensing or registration for call centre services.[6]

What deregulation means in the policy's own words

The migration table lists "Call Center Registration Certificate" as "De-regulated", with a footnote stating that on expiry of the current licensing term the service "shall be de-regulated (license would not be required to provide this service)".[1] The policy's definitions add that services in the deregulated category may be offered without a licence.[1] Two points follow. Deregulation is tied to the expiry of each registration, not to the date of the policy. And it removes the authorisation, not the general law that governs what a centre may do with voice traffic.

The new role of access network operators

Clause 9.1 does not leave the field empty. Licensed access network service providers (ANSPs), meaning mobile operators and fixed telecom service providers, are made "responsible for facilitating the provisions of these services by interested entities through a transparent and effective collaboration framework" and must "ensure basic regulatory compliance and monitoring of these services".[1] In practice, regulatory gatekeeping moves from a BTRC certificate to the connectivity contract. Expect operators to require know-your-customer documents, a description of the service, traffic monitoring rights and termination rights for misuse.

Why the transition is not yet complete

The policy runs in three stages, with the final stage to begin no later than 30 June 2027, described as the soft cut-off date.[1] At the end of December 2025 the BTRC chairman said guidelines under the new policy had been drafted and were awaiting government approval.[7] BTRC then sent a revised draft of the policy itself to the Posts and Telecommunications Division on 24 May 2026, reshaping several licence categories.[8] As at 31 October 2026 we could not find a published ANSP collaboration framework for call centres. Until it appears, the 2013 Instructions remain the only detailed rulebook.

New entrants and existing registrants: two different positions

The practical answer to the call centre licence Bangladesh question now depends on whether a business already holds a registration. The policy treats the two groups differently, and the difference matters for planning, budgets and client assurances.

Existing registered centres

A centre holding a current registration certificate keeps it until expiry. The policy allows existing licensees to complete their current terms, while reserving BTRC's right to amend the guidelines that govern them.[1] Every condition in the 2013 Instructions therefore still binds: registered locations, connectivity rules, CDR retention, inspection access and the transfer restrictions. A registration can still be suspended or cancelled for breach, and cancellation debars the company, its shareholders and individuals involved from a new registration for five years.[2]

Renewal at the end of the term

Under the 2013 Instructions a registration lasts five years and is renewed for further five-year terms, with the renewal application due one month before expiry.[2] The policy footnote suggests that when the term ends, no new authorisation is needed. Our view is that a registrant approaching expiry should write to BTRC before the renewal window closes, asking whether renewal is required or whether the deregulated position applies. A written answer protects the business with clients and connectivity providers, who will otherwise ask for a valid certificate.

New entrants

The policy states that, once the new licensing regime starts, new applications will be considered only for the new categories, and call centre registration is not one of them.[1] Yet the implementing guidelines were not published when this guide was updated, and the 2013 Instructions and their application forms remain on BTRC's licensing portal.[3] A new entrant should ask BTRC in writing whether it is still accepting call centre registrations. If it is, registering is inexpensive insurance during the overlap. If it is not, document the answer and build compliance into the connectivity contract.

Registration and connectivity procedure under the 2013 Instructions

Where a call centre licence Bangladesh filing is still sought, or an existing registrant needs to make changes, the procedure is short. The difficulty lies in the technical conditions, not the paperwork. The fee is modest: Tk 5,000 as a one-time registration fee for the initial five-year term, though the Commission reserves the right to change any term or fee at any time.[2] Check BTRC's current schedule before filing.

The two forms

The applicant first applies for registration on the prescribed form, BTRC:CC1. Once registered, the operator applies on a second form, BTRC:CC2, to start operation.[2] The application must include the set-up details, proposed equipment and a network diagram, and any later change to the set-up needs the Commission's permission.[2] Importing call centre equipment also requires prior permission.[2]

Commencement deadlines

A registered entity must start operating within six months of registration, failing which the registration may be cancelled unless an extension is granted on a reasoned application. Once international or domestic connectivity is obtained, operation must begin within thirty days, with notice to the Commission.[2] Plan the lease, fit-out and connectivity orders so that these clocks do not run out.

International connectivity

An international centre must obtain bandwidth only from operators licensed by BTRC, and the link to overseas clients must run over IPLC, MPLS or IP bandwidth with the Commission's prior permission, in proportion to the number of seats.[2] No termination or connectivity is allowed to or from domestic PSTN, cellular or data networks; telephone network connectivity is allowed only at the foreign end, through the client's point of presence.[2] Both inbound and outbound international calls are permitted, but only for call centre purposes. Who may carry international voice, and through which routes, is explained in our guide to international voice services in Bangladesh.

Domestic connectivity

A domestic centre may take connectivity only from PSTN and IPTSP operators licensed by the Commission, with prior permission, and may not terminate to or from international, internet or data networks.[2] The 2025 policy merges IPTSP licences, which since 2009 have authorised IP voice over ISP networks, into fixed telecom service licences during migration,[12] so a domestic centre's supplier may change licence category during the life of the contract.[1] How those operators obtain numbers and price minutes is covered in our guide to the VoIP licence in Bangladesh.

Operating locations, additional centres and remote agents

Location rules shape a centre's cost base more than any fee. They were written for fixed, monitored premises, and they remain binding on registered operators until the registration expires or BTRC changes them.

Registered premises and minimum size

A call centre must have at least five seats or agents.[2] Its network set-up may not be extended to any location other than the specified location, and for domestic centres not without the Commission's prior permission or notification.[2] Office telephone and internet lines must be completely separated from the call centre network.[2] BACCO's leadership has criticised these physical office and dedicated infrastructure requirements as barriers to scale.[9]

Additional centres and disaster recovery

One registration can cover multiple centres, but each location, with its number of agents and client details, must be registered with the Commission before operation.[2] Interconnection between centres serving the same client is allowed with prior permission for redundancy, backup and load balancing; interconnection between centres serving different clients is not.[2] A disaster recovery centre may be set up, but it may be used only when the main centre is inoperative, and it must be inside Bangladesh.[2]

Remote and home-based agents

The 2013 Instructions are blunt: call centre operators "will not configure the equipment to support remote agents", for both international and domestic centres.[2] We found no published BTRC instrument relaxing that condition. A registered operator that lets agents log in from home is therefore in breach of its registration, however common the practice has become. Once a registration expires and the deregulated position applies, the condition falls away as a registration term, but connectivity providers may impose equivalent controls under clause 9.1, and client contracts often require them anyway.[1]

Encryption and VPNs

Operators may use VPNs or encryption, in software or hardware, provided appropriate monitoring facilities are available to the Commission if required.[2] Overseas clients that insist on end-to-end encrypted links into their own systems should be told about this condition early.

Legacy requirements that still apply during the transition

For a registered centre, every condition remains in force until expiry. For a deregulated or unregistered centre, a smaller set of obligations continues because it comes from the Act, from other laws or from the licences of the operators that supply connectivity. Knowing which is which avoids two opposite mistakes: treating deregulation as a free-for-all, and over-complying with conditions that no longer apply.

Rules that bind registered centres until expiry

• Call records: centres must record and store detailed call data records for at least six months and keep daily traffic-monitoring records for at least six months.[2]
• Inspection: BTRC, its representatives and law enforcement agencies have unrestricted access to premises without prior notice, and authorised agencies may intercept traffic originating or terminating at the centre.[2]
• Information: a registered entity must report changes in its information within fifteen days and produce copies of client agreements on demand.[2]
• Transfer: the registration may not be assigned, sub-leased or shared through a partnership or third-party interest without written consent.[2]
• Foreign staff: foreign expatriates may make up no more than 10% of employees at all levels, and the list must be filed with the Commission.[2]

Rules that survive deregulation

Some prohibitions do not depend on the certificate. A call centre may not provide switched telephony or act as a public call office, and the registration never authorised any service requiring a separate licence.[2] Those limits reflect section 35 of the Act, which still requires a licence to provide a telecommunication service.[4] A centre that sells calling minutes, routes third-party traffic or terminates international calls into local networks is running an unlicensed telecom service, with or without a call centre registration. Reselling telephony through someone else's licence raises separate issues covered in our guide to white-label VoIP in Bangladesh.

Rules from outside the telecom regime

Foreign currency earnings and remittances must follow Bangladesh's foreign exchange rules, a condition the Instructions themselves repeat.[2] Employment, tax and investment registration apply as they would to any services company; see our guides to employing expatriates in Bangladesh and investment approvals. Call recording, customer data and overseas hosting fall under the Personal Data Protection Act 2026, analysed in our guide to call recording law in Bangladesh.

Comparing call centre models in 2026

The table below sets out how the call centre licence Bangladesh rules treat each model. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

The decisive questions are whose customers the centre serves, where those customers are, and whether the centre does anything that looks like carrying telephone traffic for others. Get those answers right and the rest usually follows: an in-house domestic helpline needs nothing from BTRC; an outsourced international centre registered before deregulation keeps its conditions to expiry; and any model that sells connectivity needs a real licence.

Step-by-step: opening a call centre or BPO in 2026

The sequence below reflects how we prepare clients for the call centre licence Bangladesh process during the transition, whether or not a registration is ultimately issued.

Swipe or scroll →

Keep a dated file of every written exchange with BTRC and connectivity providers on the registration question, and revisit it whenever BTRC publishes a new guideline.

The regulators and counterparties a call centre deals with

Even after deregulation, a call centre deals with several bodies, and the connectivity provider has become the most important.

For overseas clients, the counterparties that matter most are the local operating company and its connectivity suppliers. Contract terms on service levels, data, staffing and liability are discussed in our guide to call centre outsourcing contracts, and ongoing obligations to BTRC in our BTRC compliance guide.

Mistakes to avoid with a call centre licence Bangladesh strategy

• Treating deregulation as already complete. The policy deregulates registration on expiry of each term. Until then, a registered centre's conditions bind in full.[1]
• Assuming the in-house exemption covers group work. It applies to an entity's own customers within the country, not to captive centres serving an overseas parent's customers.[2]
• Running remote agents on a registered platform. The 2013 Instructions prohibit configuring equipment for remote agents, and we found no published relaxation.[2]
• Opening an unregistered additional site. Each location must be registered with agent numbers and client details before it operates.[2]
• Mixing domestic and international traffic. Interconnecting the two networks is prohibited, and shared equipment needs prior permission and monitoring.[2]
• Selling minutes on the side. Switched telephony and public call office services are outside the registration and require a telecom licence.[2] [4]
• Letting the commencement clock run out. Operation must start within six months of registration and within thirty days of connectivity.[2]

What to watch in late 2026 and 2027

Four developments will settle the call centre licence Bangladesh position. First, the government's decision on the revised licensing policy sent on 24 May 2026, which reshapes the access layer that will supervise call centres.[8] Second, the ANSP collaboration framework under clause 9.1, which will show what operators must check before connecting a centre.[1] Third, the 30 June 2027 soft cut-off and the firm cut-off dates BTRC is to set for each legacy category.[1] Fourth, whether BTRC formally withdraws the 2013 Instructions or amends their conditions for remaining registrants.

The institutional context has also changed. Under the 2026 amendment to the Telecommunication Act, enacted by Parliament in April 2026 after an interim ordinance, licensing authority outside a small set of nationally significant licences returned to the BTRC, so the Commission alone will decide how call centre deregulation is implemented.[10] [11] TRW's corporate and commercial advisory team helps BPO providers and overseas clients structure entry, connectivity and regulatory correspondence; contact TRW to review your set-up.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a BTRC registration to open an outsourced call centre in 2026?

The 2025 policy deregulates the call centre registration category, but the implementing framework had not been published at the time of writing. Ask BTRC in writing whether it still accepts registrations; if it does, registering gives certainty during the overlap.[1] [3]

Does a company's own customer helpline need BTRC approval?

No. Under clause 3.5 of the 2013 Instructions, an entity operating a call centre for its own customers within Bangladesh does not require registration.[2]

How long does a call centre registration certificate last?

Five years, renewable for further five-year terms, with the renewal application due one month before expiry. The 2025 policy indicates that on expiry the service becomes deregulated, so confirm the position with BTRC before the renewal date.[1] [2]

What is the BTRC call centre registration fee?

The 2013 Instructions set a one-time fee of Tk 5,000 for the initial five-year term, but BTRC may change fees at any time, so check its current schedule.[2]

Can call centre agents work from home in Bangladesh?

Not under a registration governed by the 2013 Instructions, which prohibit configuring equipment for remote agents. We found no published BTRC relaxation of that condition.[2]

Can one registration cover several call centre sites?

Yes. Multiple centres may operate under one registration, but each location, with its agent numbers and client details, must be registered with BTRC before it starts operating.[2]

Can a call centre serve both local and overseas clients?

Yes, under a single registration, but domestic and international networks may not be interconnected, and sharing equipment between them needs prior permission and a monitoring system.[2]

Who supervises call centres after deregulation?

Clause 9.1 of the 2025 policy makes licensed access network operators responsible for facilitating deregulated services and for basic regulatory compliance and monitoring of them, under a collaboration framework still to be issued.[1]

Is there a limit on foreign staff in a Bangladeshi call centre?

For registered centres, foreign expatriates may not exceed 10% of employees at any level, and their list must be submitted to BTRC. General work permit rules also apply.[2]

What happens if a call centre registration is cancelled?

BTRC may suspend or cancel a registration, or impose fines, for breach. On cancellation, the company, its shareholders and the individuals involved are barred from obtaining a new registration for five years.[2]