Govt may lift ban on Grameenphone's SIM card sales | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Wednesday
June 11, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2025
Govt may lift ban on Grameenphone's SIM card sales

Telecom

Eyamin Sajid
02 January, 2023, 10:00 am
Last modified: 02 January, 2023, 10:42 am

Related News

  • BTRC hands over licences to Starlink
  • 41 lakh people left Dhaka in two days before Eid
  • BTRC approves mobile operators to install device to transmit more data at lower cost
  • HC dismisses food adulteration case against Yunus
  • TikTok, BTRC host Digital Safety Summit Bangladesh to promote online safety

Govt may lift ban on Grameenphone's SIM card sales

Eyamin Sajid
02 January, 2023, 10:00 am
Last modified: 02 January, 2023, 10:42 am
Photo: Collected
Photo: Collected

The government may lift the ban on Grameenphone's SIM card sales. The Department of Posts and Telecommunications (PTD) has started reviewing the ban.

According to sources at PTD, the country's largest mobile operator may be allowed to sell all types of SIMs - both old and new ones - in consideration of the improvement in various indicators related to its quality of service.

Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Sunday (1 January) night told The Business Standard that a decision in this regard will be announced soon.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"It has been six months since Grameenphone stopped selling SIM cards, which is enough time for an operator to improve their service quality. They claim to have improved the service quality in various indicators, hence the likelihood of lifting the embargo is being reviewed. A decision will be announced soon," he said. 

Earlier on 29 June, the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) directed to stop the sale of all types of SIM cards of Grameenphone on the grounds that the service quality of the operator is not satisfactory.

However, it was later learned that the ban was imposed, under the direction of the Department of Posts and Telecommunications, due to the poor network around Padma Bridge on the day of its inauguration.

"On the day of the Padma bridge inauguration, Grameenphone's network was not good there -- the prime minister saw it. The cabinet secretary then called our secretary (posts and telecommunications division) and expressed his displeasure. The operator continues to have complaints about the poor quality of its service. Moreover, there was also a writ in the court. All these have led to the decision to ban GP SIM card sales," said Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder at an event on 6 November.

The BRTC chairman repeated the same reason at another event on 8 November. Both events were attended by Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar, who in several media statements claimed that the poor quality of service including cold drops are to blame for the ban.

The decision hit the operator hard as it has lost 16 lakh subscribers since the embargo was issued. As of August, Grameenphone has a subscriber base of 8.31 crore which was 8.48 crore in June.

In mid-September, the commission allowed the operator to sell 13-lakh old unused SIMs considering the high demand for Grameenphone SIM as per the applications of various government and private departments including law enforcement agencies.

However, BTRC backtracked from its decision on 6 November, after the Department of Posts and Telecommunications issued a show cause notice to the commission on 18 October regarding the directive.

"The service quality of the operator has not improved since the suspension of new SIM card sales. The ministry has instructed me to revoke my earlier order that allowed the sale of old SIMs," BTRC Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said when asked about the withdrawal.

Later on 20 November, telecom giant Grameenphone got permission to sell 78,000 sim cards to selective public and private corporate clients such as the Bangladesh Armed Forces, Bangladesh Police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

In a letter sent to BTRC on 25 November, Grameenphone asked for the lifting of the ban stating that it had fulfilled the conditions of service improvement.

Bangladesh / Top News

Grameen / Sim Card / Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC)

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Bangladesh's growth forecast unchanged: WB report
    Bangladesh's growth forecast unchanged: WB report
  • Faiz Ahmad Tayeb. Photo: BSS
    Import duty on raw materials for e-bikes, lithium batteries reduced from 80% to 1% in some cases: Faiz Taiyeb
  • Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who departed Israel by plane on Tuesday after being detained aboard the Gaza-bound British-flagged yacht "Madleen" after Israeli forces boarded the charity vessel as it attempted to reach the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade, talks to journalists surrounded by French police as she arrives at a terminal at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, in Roissy-en-France near Paris, France, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
    Greta Thunberg says she was kidnapped by Israel in international waters

MOST VIEWED

  • On left, Abdullah Hil Rakib, former senior vice president (SVP) of BGMEA and additional managing director of Team Group; on right, Captain Md Saifuzzaman (Guddu), a Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilot for Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Photos: Collected
    Ex-BGMEA SVP Abdullah Hil Rakib, Biman 787 pilot Saifuzzaman drown in boating accident in Canada
  • File photo of Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital from their country homes/Rajib Dhar
    Dhaka: The city we never want to return to, but always do
  • Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus leaves for a four-day visit to the United Kingdom from the Dhaka airport on 9 June 2025. Photo: CA Press Wing
    CA Yunus leaves for UK; discussion expected on renewable energy investment, laundered money
  • File Photo: Collected
    Enhanced surveillance at Ctg airport amid rising global Covid-19 cases
  • Inside the aid ship stormed by Israeli forces on 9 June 2025. Photo: BBC
    Israeli forces stormed aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg bound for Gaza: Freedom Flotilla Coalition
  • Photos: Collected
    Abdul Hamid wasn't arrested because he's not wanted right now: Home adviser

Related News

  • BTRC hands over licences to Starlink
  • 41 lakh people left Dhaka in two days before Eid
  • BTRC approves mobile operators to install device to transmit more data at lower cost
  • HC dismisses food adulteration case against Yunus
  • TikTok, BTRC host Digital Safety Summit Bangladesh to promote online safety

Features

Illustration: Duniya Jahan/ TBS

Forget Katy Perry, here’s Bangladesh’s Ruthba Yasmin shooting for the moon

5h | Features
File photo of Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital from their country homes/Rajib Dhar

Dhaka: The city we never want to return to, but always do

1d | Features
Photo collage shows political posters in Bagerhat. Photos: Jannatul Naym Pieal

From Sheikh Dynasty to sibling rivalry: Bagerhat signals a turning tide in local politics

3d | Bangladesh
Illustration: TBS

Unbearable weight of the white coat: The mental health crisis in our medical colleges

6d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Greta Thunberg deported from Israel

Greta Thunberg deported from Israel

7h | TBS World
BNP is not a revolutionary party: Mirza Fakhrul

BNP is not a revolutionary party: Mirza Fakhrul

8h | TBS Today
News of The Day, 10 JUNE 2025

News of The Day, 10 JUNE 2025

5h | TBS News of the day
Trump sends 2,000 more National Guard and 700 Marines to Los Angeles

Trump sends 2,000 more National Guard and 700 Marines to Los Angeles

8h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net