Mobile operators, Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink and Teletalk, are yet to achieve full 4G network coverage, while network issues persist across the country, officials said.
Mobile operators Grameenphone Ltd, Robi Axiata Ltd, Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd and Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd performed poorly in the telecom regulator's drive test to assess service quality, reinforcing users' claims of experiencing substandard service.
Syed Mohiuddin Hasami, a communication specialist at a private firm, favours internet-based calls over cellular voice calls due to their poor quality. He also struggles with fluctuating 4G internet speeds, which makes it challenging for him to maintain conversations. Outside of Dhaka Grameenphone and Banglalink internet- connection was very low quality.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's acquired system for drive tests of Maintaining the quality of service (QoS) of the mobile operators on 2024.
"Since 2011, licensees have negotiated these standards through consultation and negotiation and the recent report, if accurate, highlights a significant failure to uphold the commitments made upon accepting these licences," according to sources.
Robi, which has 5.6 crore customers as of December 2024, market leader Grameenphone, which has 8.5 crore subscribers, In Dhaka city, Banglalink, which has 4.2 crore customers, fared the worst among the three private carriers.
According to BTRC All four operators failed to meet the BTRC's ceiling for call setup time of 7 seconds in Savar for 2G voice calls.
Banglalink and Teletalk also failed in Keraniganj, while Teletalk missed the mark in Dhaka and Narayanganj.
For 2G voice calls, only Robi met the call setup success ratio in Dhaka and Narayanganj. BTRC show-causes Robi, Banglalink for failing to improve service quality.
The unsatisfactory performance comes as the operators are not fully utilising the spectrum from the higher bands assigned to them in March 2022. Conversely, the operators are relying on the lower band, which offers wider coverage with fewer base stations.
The higher band have a shorter range but more bandwidth, meaning better transmission capacity but with a higher concentration of base stations.
However, the lack of proper spectrum usage is causing customers to experience poor signal, frequent call drops and mute calls. Over the past decade, the BTRC has implemented measures such as infrastructure sharing and unified licencing to optimise operational costs.
According to the BTRC, in the fiscal year 2022-23, more than one-third of the 15,335 customer complaints were about telecom operators' service quality, with less than 20 per cent regarding data speed.
At the public hearing hosted by the BTRC, he criticised the mobile operators for delaying the deployment of their existing spectrum resources adequately.
BTRC officials addressed users concerned about the delay in launching 5G, saying that they prioritise strengthening 4G coverage nationwide before considering 5G implementation.
An official of BTRC told The Daily Observer that Bangladesh is still in a marginal position as per the average South Asian standard when it comes to fully implementing the 4G network.
"So, it is still important for us to develop the 4G network further. According to international projections, 4G will see 100 per cent penetration globally by 2022. However, for us, it will take up to 2025," he said.
Four mobile phone operators got 4G licences in 2018. Since then, only 30 per cent of the subscribers have been brought under 4G coverage. State-owned telecom operator Teletalk's performance in providing 4G services is very miserable.
