Although the Robi-Airtel merger had promised an improved mobile phone service with the widest coverage across Bangladesh, the customers' accounts about the quality of voice calls and other services tell a different story.
Robi Axiata Ltd and Airtel Bangladesh Ltd merged to become a single commercial entity on November 16, 2016, serving approximately 32.2 million subscribers under the new name Robi Axiata Ltd.
Since the merger came into effect, subscribers of these two mobile phone operators around the country have been facing problems during voice calls.
Shafiqur Rahman, a Robi subscriber who lives in Shantinagar, Dhaka, complained about call fading.
“When I call other people using my Robi number, often I cannot hear the other end for 15-20 seconds during our conversation,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
Airtel subscribers have also complained about poor network coverage and difficulty in connecting with other mobile phone numbers.
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“I have to try making a call at least two or three times before my call connects with someone. On top of that, when we are talking, the call fades out for almost half a minute,” said Zakirul Islam, a businessman in Sylhet. “This is creating problems for my business.”
Mahmud Hossain said that during power outages his Airtel network goes down completely where he lives in Lalbagh, when all the other mobile networks are fully functional.
“Most of the time, we do not get a full network. Sometimes we cannot even recharge our accounts because of this problem,” he said.
Shipon Habib, of Moghbazar in Dhaka, was another dissatisfied Airtel subscriber.
“We thought the Airtel network would improve with the merger as Robi's network coverage is bigger than Airtel's. But nothing has changed. It is very disappointing,” he said.
At this rate, people will start switching to other mobile phone services, he added.
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Because of the poor network, the internet services of Robi and Airtel have also become unsatisfactory with slow data rate and lags, said the subscribers.
The Robi vice-president (communications and corporate responsibility), Ekram Kabir, said technical difficulties were to blame for the disruption to services in the capital.
“The network integration is still in progress in Dhaka, so subscribers are facing a little bit of a problem. The network will be back to normal after the integration is done. Outside Dhaka, there is no problem,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
The Robi-Airtel merger started to take shape when the two companies signed a pre-cursor to the deal on January 29, 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The merger received the go-ahead from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission on October 16, after the High Court gave its approval on August 31.
Robi Axiata Ltd's parent company, Axiata Group of Malaysia, holds a 68.7% controlling stake in the combined entity while India-based Bharti Airtel, the parent company of Airtel Bangladesh Ltd, holds 25%.
The remaining 6.3% belongs to NTT DOCOMO of Japan, another shareholder of Robi.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
