Grameenphone Limited, the country’s largest mobile phone operator and leading technology service provider, has appealed to withdraw the ban on the sale of new SIM cards. The operator made this request in two separate letters recently to the Department of Posts and Telecommunications and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
On June 29, BTRC banned the sale of Grameenphone SIMs for an indefinite period due to questions about the quality of service. The company said the decision was taken due to customer complaints against the operator and service quality not satisfactory in BTRC’s tests.
In the letter sent to the Department of Posts and Telecommunications, Grameenphone mentioned various initiatives taken by them to strengthen service quality and digital services.
- Grameenphone purchased maximum spectrum in 2021 and 2022 as part of its long-term commitment to network expansion and service quality improvement.
- By 2022, the operator will build 1,900 more towers through tower companies, which will help improve service quality. In 2021, the company also built 1600 towers.
- Grameenphone employs 10 MHz spectrum at a total of 14,500 sites. It also upgraded the bandwidth of 15,550 sites from 10 MHz to 15 MHz to enhance the data experience of customers.
- Grameenphone is accelerating the fiberization process in collaboration with NTTS partners. In 2022, the operator covered 2,316 km of fiber, which is 30 percent more than in 2021, and compared to the previous year, the operator increased fiber connectivity to sites by 75 percent.
- The operator is working on frequency optimization to provide a better experience to the customers of Dhaka and increase the quality of service.
- The operator has started using the newly acquired 2600 MHz spectrum. Grameenphone has already paid the first installment of Tk. 248 crore 24 lakhs to BTRC and NBR.
In the letter, Grameenphone claims that they are fulfilling all the conditions set by BTRC to ensure quality of services including:
- According to BTRC’s Quality of Service report, GPs’ call drop rate in 2021 was 0.22 percent, which is 9 times lower than the norm. Operators’ call drop of up to 2 percent is considered normal. Even this call drop of Grameenphone is 2 times less than the second best operator.
2. Grameenphone also conducted a test drive with BTRC in 2022, where the operator fulfilled all the conditions of quality of service in all categories.
In the letter, Grameenphone said that continuous efforts are necessary to ensure quality of service, which Grameenphone is doing with the help of the regulator. These initiatives of the operator will help connect everyone and act as an ecosystem player in building Smart Bangladesh.
Finally, in the letter, Grameenphone authorities requested the authorities to withdraw the ban on the sale of new SIM cards.