Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has upheld a Tk10 lakh administrative fine on Robi Axiata for suspending 3G services at a large number of sites without prior approval.
The decision was taken at the commission’s December meeting, where Robi’s appeal was treated as a revision or review application and disposed of by maintaining the earlier penalty, according to officials familiar with the process.
Commission records show that in early 2023 Robi simultaneously shut down 3G services at multiple sites across the country without obtaining advance permission, breaching the conditions of its 3G cellular mobile network licence and several provisions of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act 2001.
The matter came to the regulator’s attention after it was found that 1,970 sites nationwide had their 3G services kept suspended without approval, a move the commission said was inconsistent with customer interests and the prevailing policy framework.
Following the detection, the commission in 2023 directed Robi to explain the suspension and seek the necessary approvals.
Robi submitted a written explanation to the commission then and applied for retrospective approval for the sites where 3G services had been shut down.
In September 2023, the commission granted retrospective approval for keeping 3G technology suspended at those sites but decided to impose a Tk10 lakh administrative fine for violating licence conditions.
Under that decision, Robi was instructed to pay the fine.
The operator did not pay the penalty within the stipulated time and instead submitted multiple applications seeking waiver and exemption, which the commission rejected in the following months while reiterating its directive to pay.
In September 2023, Robi applied for a personal hearing, leading the commission to initiate proceedings under Section 65 of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act 2001.
As per a decision taken in March 2025, a hearing was held on 14 October last year, chaired by the commissioner for legal and licensing, during which the commission reviewed the investigation report prepared by its appointed officials, Robi’s explanations and the documents submitted.
After the hearing, the commission concluded that Robi had violated the law and licence conditions by suspending 3G services without approval and ruled that the previously imposed Tk10 lakh administrative fine was lawful and justified.
The commission also warned that failure to pay the fine within 10 working days would result in further action under the law.
Despite the ruling, Robi again submitted an appeal to the commission.
The commission’s legal wing subsequently advised that the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act 2001 does not provide for a direct appeal in such cases.
Exercising its statutory authority to review its own decisions, the commission placed Robi’s appeal before its December meeting as a revision application and resolved to uphold the earlier penalty, making the Tk10 lakh administrative fine final.
TIMES of Bangladesh requested Robi Axiata for a comment, but the request went unanswered.
