GP's SIM sales banned

The telecom regulator on Wednesday imposed a ban on the sales of subscriber identity module (SIM) of Grameenphone (GP) for not improving its quality of service.

The restriction will remain until the country's largest mobile operator improves its quality of service as per standards set by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), according to a BTRC directive.

Deputy Director of BTRC Zakir Hossain Khan confirmed the regulatory instruction.

The GP has 84.95 million subscribers until May 2022. It added around 70,000 new subscribers only in May last.

According to a number of drive tests run by BTRC, GP has been found providing substandard services in most cases.

Currently, the GP provides 1.4 million subscribers with one megahertz spectrum.

When contacted, Grameenphone said the company has been adhering to and staying way ahead of the regulator's QoS benchmark and ITU's international benchmark.

The company has also been closely collaborating with BTRC to constantly improve the network quality and service by acquiring the highest allowable spectrum in the recent auction and taking a series of network modernization steps. Against this backdrop, a senior GP executive said, “we are currently assessing the unexpected letter and subsequent embargo to determine our next course of action.”

''However, we believe that constructive dialogue with the regulator is the best way to resolve issues in the best interest of our potential customers,'' he added.

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