The minimum internet speed for 4G services provided by mobile operators must now be 10 Mbps (megabits per second), up from the current benchmark of 7 Mbps.
At the same time, the rate of call drops must also be reduced.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has set these new standards for telecom services, covering multiple aspects of service quality. The new Quality of Service (QoS) guidelines will come into effect from September.
Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser in charge of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, revealed the changes in a Facebook post on Sunday.
He wrote, “The previous standards were poor and have now been made timely and realistic. The updated directive will soon be issued. The new guidelines will apply to mobile operators, nationwide telecommunication transmission networks (NTTN), and internet service providers (ISPs). BTRC will review operators’ monthly reports starting this September.”
The New Standards
Call drops—when a call is suddenly disconnected due to poor network—remain one of the biggest user complaints. Under the current guidelines, mobile operators are required to maintain a call drop rate of less than 2 per cent for 2G services. The new policy reduces this limit to 1 per cent, while allowing 1.5 per cent at the upazila level.
Often users must attempt multiple times to successfully connect a call. According to BTRC’s previous rules, the call setup success rate had to be at least 97 per cent. The new guidelines raise this to 99 per cent nationwide, while setting it at 98 per cent in district and upazila areas. Several other service quality indicators have also been updated.
BTRC Chairman Major General (Retd.) Emdad Ul Bari told Prothom Alo that there was a similar guideline in place earlier, but it had fewer benchmarks and applied only to mobile operators. “This time, the scope has been expanded and several changes have been introduced. The policy will now also apply to other telecom service operators. Operators will be given reasonable time to implement it,” he said.
What operators are saying
Improving service quality will require significant investment, leading to higher costs for operators, who already face criticism over poor service delivery.
Mohammad Zulfikar, Secretary General of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB), told Prothom Alo that operators have not yet received the final directive. “However, operators are committed to providing uninterrupted and high-quality service to customers. Such guidelines are very important in achieving that goal,” he said.
He added that in related discussions, AMTOB has highlighted the realities of the telecom sector, the existing tax structure, customer expectations and needs, as well as the balance between investment and revenue. Discussions with BTRC on these matters are ongoing.
Ensuring proper monitoring
According to BTRC, Bangladesh has 188.4 million mobile subscribers (with many individuals using multiple SIMs). Of these, 119.2 million use the internet.
Abu Nazam Md Tanveer Hossain, a technology policy consultant, said, “It must be ensured that the new standards are properly monitored and enforced. At the same time, frequency prices, telecom taxes, and duties on smartphones should be reduced.”