5G for the Price of 4G: Robi Leads the Leap
On September 1, Bangladesh formally launched limited-scale commercial 5G services with technical support from Huawei and Ericsson. The service was inaugurated by Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser, marking the country’s entry into next-generation connectivity. Robi became the first operator to roll out the service earlier in the day.
At the launch event held at Robi’s corporate office, the company’s secretary, Shahedul Alam, announced that customers in Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chattogram will initially be able to access 5G data at existing 4G rates. Robi plans to expand the service to 500 sites next year, based on demand.
“We are gathering customer experiences and assessing how 5G is functioning,” said Alam. “The expansion of this network will depend on customer experience and the availability of 5G-compatible devices.”
Distinguished guests included ICT Division Secretary Shish Haydar Chowdhury, BTRC Chairman Emdadul Ul Bari, Spectrum Management Commissioner Mahmud Hossain, Spectrum Management Director General Brigadier General Md. Aminul Haque, and Engineering & Operations Director General Brigadier General Shafiul Azam Parvez.
BTRC Chairman Bari emphasized the challenge of digital inclusion: “About 35 percent of the population still uses feature phones. We must bridge this digital divide, otherwise technology will not equally benefit everyone.”
“5G is not just any technology—it is a real-time solution. In this soft launch, we must ensure that rural communities are not left behind. We are also prioritizing democratization of fiber deployment, aiming to expand the current 200,000 kilometers of fiber to the required 500,000,” he added.
Highlighting challenges, Bari said, “By our calculations, at least 500,000 kilometers of transmission network will be required. The existing network must be shared and used more efficiently. Today we have 5G; tomorrow there will be 10G. But the goal of technology is not just speed—it is solving people’s problems in education, healthcare, and smart farming.”
Reflecting on Bangladesh’s telecom history, he noted: “There was a time when even 0G did not exist. A household with a landline was treated with special regard, and neighbors would rely on that phone in times of need. Phones were locked to prevent overuse, and tech-savvy youth like us would experiment to bypass those locks. That was my first innovation.”
Robi’s acting CEO, M. Riaz Rashid, stated in his presidential remarks: “Thanks to the government’s vision and policy support, we have been able to bring 5G to reality in record time. This trial rollout will play a crucial role in advancing Bangladesh’s digital economy. People can now directly experience the connectivity of the future.”
It has been confirmed that Robi’s 5G service is already active in several locations: Fakirapul (Paltan) and parts of Dhaka University (Shahbagh), Moghbazar intersection in Dhaka, Khulshi in Chattogram, and Sagardighi area in Sylhet.
