Bangladesh’s telecom technology has moved rapidly from 3G to 4G and towards 5G, but many problems troubling mobile users have barely changed over the past decade.
Call drops, slow internet, weak network coverage, high tariffs and SIM-related issues that dominated the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission’s (BTRC) first public hearing in 2016 again featured among the major complaints at its seventh hearing on Wednesday.
While digital expansion has brought newer concerns such as data carry-forward, National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR), OTT-linked packages, foreign OTP delays and SMS masking, consumers continue to struggle with the basics — price, speed, coverage and service quality.
The latest hearing, however, brought one potential relief. BTRC said it is reviewing the existing minimum voice-call tariff, currently fixed at 45 paisa per minute.
“Considering the interests of consumers, work is underway at BTRC to reduce the floor price of voice calls,” BTRC Systems and Services Division Director General Brig Gen Shahzad Parvez Mahyuddin said in response to a consumer’s demand for lower call rates.
The current BTRC-set voice tariff ranges between 45 paisa and Tk2 per minute.
BTRC’s seven public hearings show how persistent the sector’s consumer complaints have been.
The first hearing in 2016 received 1,050 complaints, mainly over call drops, slow internet and biometric SIM registration. The number jumped to a record 23,016 complaints in the 2021 online hearing, followed by 848 in 2022 and 3,025 in 2024.
At the 2025 hearing, consumers raised 1,756 questions, opinions and complaints over service quality, high prices, network coverage, SIM management and transparency.
At Wednesday’s hearing, 2,990 consumers registered online. The highest number of submissions concerned BTRC’s Systems and Services Division with 1,045 complaints, followed by Engineering and Operations with 844.
Tariffs, data validity and carry-forward, network coverage, SIM registration, NEIR and service quality remained among the biggest concerns.
Separately, BTRC received 13,009 complaints between July 2025 and June 2026, including 5,051 through its helpline and 7,958 through Webbox. The regulator said it resolved 11,279 complaints, or 86.70 per cent.
However, resolution figures do not always reflect how quickly consumers receive solutions. BTRC said complaints involving network expansion often take longer as they require infrastructure development.
Dhaka-based Airtel customer Rubaid Iftekhar told TIMES of Bangladesh that he lodged a network-related complaint with Airtel on 29 August 2023 after facing availability problems. He said the operator contacted him only on 2 July 2026, nearly three years later, and informed him that the issue could not be resolved.
Long-term complaint data also highlights the scale of dissatisfaction. Between January 2021 and June 2026, BTRC received 66,705 complaints against the country’s four mobile operators.
Robi accounted for the highest number with 24,874 complaints, followed by Grameenphone with 21,526, Teletalk with 11,594 and Banglalink with 8,711.
The complaints mainly involved service quality, internet speed and value-added services, along with mobile number portability, recharge and billing, SIM registration, tariffs, SIM ownership and fraud. Although operators reported resolving most complaints, similar issues continue to return at BTRC hearings.
Lower tariffs remain one of the most persistent demands. A consumer from Jamalpur, Rakib Raihan, asked BTRC about reducing call rates and expanding the rural network of state-owned Teletalk.
Responding to the issue, BTRC Engineering and Operations Division Director General Brig Gen Shafiul Alam Parvez said Teletalk was implementing projects to fulfil its nationwide rollout obligations, including expansion in haor areas and other remote locations.
Consumers also complained that mobile networks often become unavailable during power outages, exposing weaknesses in backup infrastructure and coverage.
BTRC said it has developed a network-monitoring platform to identify when and where towers are operational or inactive and provide instructions to operators to ensure uninterrupted services.
The regulator said infrastructure shortages remain a major challenge. Bangladesh currently has around 56,000 mobile network towers, against an estimated requirement of more than 70,000. Both new towers and capacity upgrades are needed to improve service quality, it said.
Data packages remain another source of frustration, particularly over validity periods, carry-forward facilities and OTT-linked offers.
BTRC said unused data can be carried forward if the same package is renewed within its validity period. Operators have also been instructed to notify customers before expiry and clearly disclose package benefits, conditions and limitations.
New digital concerns have also emerged. A Gazipur consumer raised complaints over unmasked SMS, which can make it difficult to distinguish genuine messages from spam, and delays in receiving foreign OTPs.
BTRC said all SMS are gradually being brought under masking, while OTP delays may result from technical and financial complications. NEIR-related complaints have also increased among users.
Mobile tower radiation was another issue raised at the hearing. BTRC said regular measurements of electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation show levels remain well below national and international safety limits and do not pose risks to public health or the environment.
After years of complaints over service quality, BTRC is moving towards greater transparency.
The regulator said it has issued Quality of Service (QoS) guidelines and developed benchmarks based on International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standards. It will also publish monthly QoS data on its website, allowing consumers to compare network performance and increasing pressure on operators to improve.
BTRC Spectrum Division Commissioner Mahmud Hossain said the amended Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001 requires the commission to hold public hearings every four months.
Questions, recommendations and complaints raised at the hearings will be included in BTRC’s monitoring list and reviewed with relevant departments and service providers, he said.
Consumers can submit complaints through BTRC’s helpline 100, Grievance Redress System (GRS), Webbox and written submissions under the Right to Information Act.
BTRC’s review of voice-call tariffs, tower monitoring initiatives and monthly QoS disclosures suggest efforts to address long-running concerns.
But the repeated appearance of the same complaints across seven hearings points to a larger challenge for Bangladesh’s telecom sector—technology has changed dramatically, but many users are still waiting for basic services to catch up.
