This is totally a technical issue, not a legal matter
First of all, the issue of mobile services is never a legal matter but a completely technical issue. The government is violating its own telecom policy and law in terms of telecom infrastructure sharing.
Bangladesh Railway and the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh have widely connected fibre optic networks, which are a state property.
Grameenphone and Robi leased fibre optic cables from these two state-owned entities to provide their subscribers with better and quality telecommunication services. But, the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has imposed restrictions on Grameenphone and Robi, barring them from using these fibre optic cables.
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And, when the regulator bans telecom infrastructure sharing, the overall quality of telecom services is bound to be substandard.
Another reason behind telecom operators' poor services is that the number of base transceiver stations connected with fibre optic cables in Bangladesh is far below the regional standard.
Unless these stations are connected with fibre optic cables, the quality of services can never improve.
Also, the BTRC has only one office in the country – in the capital city – but the network is extended up to Bhasan Char.
The regulatory authorities must have physical presence at least in every district headquarters, otherwise, it is an administrative farce to address customers' grievances.
Abu Saeed Khan is a Senior Policy Fellow at LIRNEasia, and former secretary general of AMTOB
Abu Saeed Khan spoke to Eyamin Sajid of TBS over the phone
