BTRC blocks Grameenphone from selling new connections for poor service

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has barred the sale of new SIM cards by Grameenphone, citing “poor quality” of the mobile carrier’s services.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 29 June 2022, 03:54 PM
Updated : 30 June 2022, 11:22 AM

BTRC’s Engineering and Operations Division issued the order on Wednesday, said the unit’s Director Golam Razzaque.

“The quality of Grameenphone’s service isn’t improving despite it being the top mobile phone operator with a large customer base. They’ve failed to develop sufficient infrastructure to provide services to so many customers despite repeated reminders,” he said.

“We’re receiving complaints about them [Grameenphone] regularly. Dropped calls are frequent [on Grameenphone’s network].”

Razzaque added that the company will get back the permission to sell new connections once it improves the quality of its service.

In a statement on the matter, Grameenphone said it has been "adhering to and staying well ahead of the regulator's QoS benchmark and ITU's international benchmark".

"In addition, GP has also been closely collaborating with the BTRC to constantly improve the network quality and service by acquiring the highest allowable spectrum in the recent auction and taking a series of network modernization steps."

The telecom operator stressed the need for constructive dialogue with the regulator to resolve the issue.

"We are currently assessing this recent unexpected letter to determine our next course of action. We believe that constructive dialogue with the regulator is the best way to resolve issues in the best interest of our existing and new customers."

Grameenphone's customer base was around 85 million as of May, or 46 percent of total connections, the highest among the four mobile phone operators of the country.

It is also leading the other operators with 107.4 megahertz spectrum.

Robi has 104 megahertz spectrum, Banglalink 80 and state-owned Teletalk 55.2 megahertz.