What Are the Rules for AI Outbound Calls in Bangladesh?

Short answer: the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has directed mobile operators about promotional SMS and automated calls and runs a Do Not Disturb service through the operators, and the Personal Data Protection Ordinance, 2025 sets rules for personal data. We could not find a published Bangladeshi rule that speaks directly to a business making its own AI-voiced calls, to calling hours for it, or to recording calls, so treat those as unsettled. You are responsible for following the rules; ThinnestAI does not screen numbers against any register. This is not legal advice, and everything below was read from public sources on 25 October 2026.

What has BTRC said about promotional calls and messages?

News reports record two things. First, BTRC was reported in 2018 as ordering mobile operators to stop promotional SMS and automated (IVR) calls overnight and during religious observances. Reports have given different overnight hours at different times, so we state no figure; find the current circular on the BTRC website. Second, on 24 April 2021 BTRC asked mobile users to switch on the operators' Do Not Disturb service to stop promotional texts, giving different dial codes for each operator. A 2024 newspaper column noted that the service does not stop messages from senders who are not the operator.

The directions we found are addressed to the mobile operators and their own promotional traffic. We did not find a rule that directly binds a business running its own calling campaign, so we do not claim one exists, and we do not claim the Do Not Disturb service covers calls your agent makes.

What does the Personal Data Protection Ordinance, 2025 say?

The Ordinance (Ordinance No. 61 of 2025) was gazetted on 6 November 2025. As reported by The Daily Star and The Business Standard:

• It requires informed, freely given consent for processing personal data, and people can withdraw it.
• It applies to anyone processing personal data in Bangladesh, and reaches foreign entities that handle Bangladeshi citizens' data.
• Data may leave Bangladesh only where the recipient gives equivalent protection, a standard reports describe as not clearly defined.
• A National Data Governance Authority, created under a companion ordinance, is to monitor compliance and handle complaints.

Timing is unclear: The Daily Star reported that some sections take effect 18 months after the gazette notice, while a policy tracker lists the Ordinance as in force from 6 November 2025. It was issued as an ordinance, so check its current status and any rules made under it. For what the transfer rule means for you, ask a Bangladeshi adviser.

What could we verify, and what could we not?

What should you do in practice?

1. Start with inbound. Answering your own incoming calls is different from cold calling. See where to start.
2. Call people who expect you: customers with an order, people who asked for a callback, and people who gave you their number for that purpose.
3. Say who is calling, why, and that it is an AI in the opening line. You write it. See telling callers they are talking to AI.
4. Mention recording in the opening line, and keep recording off unless you need it. It is a per-agent switch.
5. Keep your own do-not-contact list and add anyone who asks to stop, immediately.
6. Set calling hours per campaign on the called person's clock. The platform sets no window of its own, so avoid late evenings and religious observances and check with your adviser.
7. Get consent for personal data that you collect on calls, in line with the Ordinance.

What should you do next?

Take these points to a Bangladeshi lawyer before a marketing campaign, and read the BTRC circulars and the Ordinance itself. For the product side, see the Bangladesh page, voice campaigns and how a Dhaka business can use an AI phone agent. The AI receptionist page covers the inbound side.