Minister urges telcos to improve services

Post and Telecommunications Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam yesterday urged mobile phone operators to improve their services, saying call drops, uneven rural network coverage and mobile package validity are among the main complaints from users.

Operators should raise awareness of how call-drop compensation works, he said at a Robi Axiata network modernisation event at Robi’s headquarters in Dhaka.

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“If you make people more aware that there is no charge deducted from them when a call drops and that the amount is returned to them, then it would help,” he said.

Package validity is another common complaint, Mahbub said.

“Many people say, ‘I bought a Tk 500 package. I still have money, but the validity has expired, and everything is gone.’ Why does this happen? If you explain these things to customers, it will make things easier for us as well,” he added.

He said he raised the same concern directly with Grameenphone, Banglalink and Teletalk to reduce such complaints.

The minister pointed to a wide gap in rural coverage, noting that he rarely receives calls from Robi users in his own constituency despite Robi’s millions of subscribers.

He urged operators not to focus only on major cities.

“Let’s not leave behind those people who live in villages. I would request that Robi services be made available to them properly as well,” he said, adding that tower sharing could help operators reach underserved areas.

Md Emdad Ul Bari, chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, and Rehan Asad, telecom and ICT adviser to the prime minister, also spoke at the event.

ROBI COMPLETES DHAKA NETWORK UPGRADE

Robi Axiata has completed a major upgrade of its mobile network across greater Dhaka to improve connectivity in the country’s most data-intensive market.

The operator said the upgrade has resulted in faster data speeds, better voice quality and stronger indoor coverage for customers.

The upgrade covers more than 4,800 sites across greater Dhaka, including Gazipur, Savar, Manikganj and Narayanganj. Robi said the work was completed with virtually no disruption to customer services.

The Dhaka upgrade is part of the company’s nationwide network modernisation programme using next-generation GIGA GREEN equipment that is 5G-ready.

According to Robi, customer experience at the cluster level has improved by up to 125 percent, while call drops have fallen by 20 percent. Customers in greater Dhaka and Gazipur are also getting three times better deep-indoor coverage and connectivity quality.

The energy-efficient network has also reduced energy use per GB by 20 percent, the company said.

Robi Chief Technology Officer Perihane Elhamy Ahmed Metaweh shared details of the upgrade at the event.

Managing Director and CEO Ziad Shatara described the Dhaka upgrade as a major step forward, saying Robi now has the strongest network in Dhaka.

He said Robi would soon complete its network modernisation in Chattogram and maintain its position as a best-in-class network “not in the advert but in reality.”

With only a few districts remaining in the final stage of the nationwide upgrade, Robi will now focus on expanding network capacity in semi-urban areas to meet growing demand.