The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (BTRC) has imposed a ban on the sale of SIM cards by Grameenphone, the largest mobile service provider in Bangladesh. The ban was enacted due to Grameenphone’s inability to provide quality services, including voice calls and internet access.
On June 29th, BTRC issued instructions to Grameenphone prohibiting the sale of new SIM cards until further notice. The operator can only resume selling new SIM cards once it can guarantee quality services to its customers.
Bangladesh Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar confirmed the ban and stated, “Despite our efforts, Grameenphone’s service quality has not improved. The company cannot increase its customer base at the expense of service quality, which is unacceptable.”
BTRC Vice Chairman Subrata Roy Maitra affirmed the ban and stated that Grameenphone is unable to provide quality services and thus cannot sell SIM cards until further notice. According to a BTRC report, Grameenphone had 8.49 million subscribers as of May 2021.
Source: Jugantar