BTRC has introduced new guidelines for operators to compensate the issues like mobile phone call drops, call drop-related information and talk time refunds to customers. The guideline was conveyed in a press release held on Monday at the Main Conference Room of BTRC. Posts and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar as Chief Guest and Secretary of Posts and Telecommunication Department Md. Khalilur Rahman as Special Guest was connected online. The press conference was presided over by the BTRC Chairman (Senior Secretary) Shyam Sundar Sikder.
In the beginning, Brigadier General Md Nasim Parvez, Director General of the Systems and Services Department of BTRC gave a detailed presentation about the new guidelines regarding call drops. The new guidelines include:
- To ensure accountability and customer satisfaction, customers of all mobile operators can know the previous day/week/month on-net call drop amount through a common USSD code (*121*765#) which will be effective from 01 October 2022 AD.
- 3 pulses (30 seconds) for each call drop in case of 1st and 2nd call drop daily and 4 pulses for each call drop in case of subsequent 3rd to 7th call drop as compensation to ensure compensation and satisfaction of the customer considering the financial and emotional loss in case of on-net call drop. (40 seconds) will refund the Talktime to the subscriber and also follow the terms of engagement.
1) Talktime refunded as a result of call drop will be usable from the first call (00:00 hours) of the next day i.e., no amount can be deducted from the customer’s account for the call before the refunded talk times are fully used.
2) The customer should be informed within the next 24 hours through SMS about the talk time refunded as a result of a call drop.
3) An operator can refund the call minutes from that day after the call drop happens.
4) A maximum period of 15 days will be applicable for the usage of the refunded Talktime of the call drop.
While speaking as the Chief Guest, the Posts and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar said that the new call drop guidelines are a milestone, the customer will receive the service with money, so the operator should ensure that the service is properly. If operators invest in telecommunication infrastructure rather than not compensating customers, call drop rates will decrease. He appealed to the operators to increase the quality of service along with the increase in their customers.
Posts and Telecommunication Department Secretary Md. Khalilur Rahman said that call drop on a mobile phone is never desirable and operators should pay attention so that people are not deprived of quality services. He called upon the operators to take steps regarding the improvement of voice calls as well as data speed.
The Vice-Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Subrata Roy Maitra, said that mobile operators are not interested in the quality of service as much as they are interested in business. According to the new guidelines, the customer will get compensation for the call drop and also get detailed information about the customer’s call drop.
Mohiuddin Ahmed, Engineer of the engineering and operations department of the commission said, from low-income people to high-income people, all are mobile subscribers. Noting that the infrastructure is growing at the rate at which customers are growing every day, he said, BTRC is determined to provide a quality network to customers and quickly bring the call drop to a bearable level.
Brigadier General Md. Ehsanul Kabir, director general of the engineering and operations department of the commission, said that call drop and internet speed are one guarantee of the quality of service. He also said that there are many reasons for mobile phones to drop due to BTS and waves being less than customers, load shedding, interference in radio equipment and optical fiber, network boosters and jammers. He also said that the call drop rate will come down if the barred wave in favor of operators is fully implemented in 2022.
BTRC chairman Shyam Sundar Sikdar said that several steps have been taken to ensure the quality of service. While speaking as the president of the meeting, the BTRC chairman Shyam Sundar Sikdar said, besides the launch of spectrum auction and tower sharing guidelines in 2021 and 2022, effective initiatives have been taken to reduce the distance between mobile operators and NTTN operators. He called upon the operators to increase the capacity of the BTS site as there are more customers in some areas than the capacity of the site. For now, call drop guidelines for on-net (GP-GP, Robi-Robi) have been formulated, but when the telecom monitoring system installed at BTRC is launched, the guidelines will be implemented in the case of off-net (GP-Robi, Robi-Banglalink) call drops.
BTRC Secretary Md Nurul Hafeez, Commissioner (Legal & Licensing) Abu Syed Dilzar Hossain, Director General (Administration) Md Delwar Hossain, Director General (Spectrum) Brigadier General Mohammad Moniruzzaman Jewell, Director General (Legal & Licensing) Ashish Kumar Kundu along with BTRC and mobile operators promotion officials were present in the ceremony.