In an exclusive interview with Dhaka Tribune's Zisan Bin Liaquat, the Senior Director of Grameenphone Corporate Affairs, Hossain Sadat talked about the quality of service and other pertaining telecom industry issues following the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's (BTRC) ban on the telecom operator's SIM sale ban in June
Over the last six months, starting June 29, we have been banned from selling our SIMs to consumers. Grameenphone's SIM sale was banned due to ‘alleged' poor Quality of Service (QoS) by the regulator (BTRC).
How does GP view the imposition of the ban? Do you see this as discriminatory?
We have not been able to understand the entire situation and the reason behind the ban imposition.
For over 25 years, we have played a significant role in the development of Bangladesh but now we feel not being allowed to support our customers in exercising their freedom of choice, and rights leading to an increased digital divide and fulfilling our duty as licensed telecommunication operator troubles us.
The topography of Dhaka, which is a growing city, is constantly evolving due to rapid urbanization, which makes it complex, and we are catering to this by designing our network plan accordingly.
Over the years, there were some customers who had left our services and migrated to other operators. We can see that many of those customers are coming back to Grameenphone's network. If our service was so bad, we would not be able to retain the trust of our customers. Please do keep in mind that we are a service provider, and our business activities are driven by customer satisfaction.
In regards to the second part of your question, yes, we believe that this ban is unfair towards us after all the impact we have had on the development and growth of this industry.
We feel disappointed with such a step by the regulator.
This ban imposition is one of its kind as there are no such examples anywhere around the world. Our industry has MNP (Mobile Number Portability) instilled as a part of the service portfolio which enables our customers to choose services from other operators without changing the numbers.
We have been catering to over 80 million customers and if the customers were dissatisfied with our services, they could easily choose services from the other operators.
But that has not been the case if you look at the regulator data.
How has it affected GP and what measures did it take following the ban?
We have taken initiatives to continuously improve the quality of service and have worked as per the regulations set by the regulatory body for around the last six months.
We have taken initiative in many folds and the test drive results stand as a testament to that.
Independent bodies like Open Signal and Tutelar have also released their study where Grameenphone's performance exceeds that of other operators and crosses the benchmarks set by the regulatory body.
As soon as the guidelines for call-drop compensation were announced, we were the first operator to start providing customers with reimbursements for call-drops.
We have always maintained our accountability towards all our customers.
Not only that, we were the first operator to have fully deployed the 2100 MHz spectrum to our network and have also started adding a new spectrum of 2600 MHz to our network from November 1.
Tripartite discussions on TowerCo have been concluded and BTRC has already given consent in this regard.
As promised, we have connected around 32% of our network towers with fibre under the guidelines set by BTRC till November 2022, which was 22% before June 2022.
We are striving to make it around 34% by the end of this year.
Moreover, in this year, 1831 sites have been established by the end of November.
With Grameenphone taking various initiatives to create dialogues, the operator's request has been ignored by BTRC leaving millions of customers in confusion, irritation, and no opportunity to exercise freedom of choice as customers.
Unfortunately, our customers are not able to buy their preferred SIM due to the ban and it is depriving customers of freedom of choice and buying rights.
Ever since the ban was imposed, we have lost about 4.46 million subscribers till November 2022.
On top of that, Grameenphone has been permitted to sell 78,000 SIMs to Corporate Customers only.
This imposition is creating an adverse impact on the overall growth and development of the industry.
How has the ban on GP SIM affected the sector and its consumers?
This ban is working against the vision of realizing a Smart Bangladesh.
Ever since the ban was imposed, we have lost about 4.46 million subscribers till November 2022.
However, most customers have not opted to take the services of the other operators and hence since June, the overall subscriber base of the industry dropped by 2.76 million from June to October 2022.
We have located multiple “No network” pocket areas within Dhaka city.
However, within our current scope, telecom operators are not allowed to build towers.
We have applied for and have asked for support from the tower companies to provide us with a solution.
But we are yet to see any proper resolution. The responsibility to do the job is not only ours. Also, only we are being punished. So there seems to be an unfair playing field in the industry.
What transpired during the Padma Bridge inauguration that led to the network collapse? What was done to resolve it?
Padma Bridge has been a symbol of our financial independence as a country and its significance is deeply rooted within our society.
Providing service on a structure that spans well over six kms is not an easy task. However, under the guidance of BTRC, all the operators had gathered to provide the network solutions.
The situation would have been much different if we were allowed to use the bridge's infrastructure for providing a network, but we did not get the approval.
This led us to build a temporary network as part of an “Interim Solution” to help people connect while crossing the bridge.
Over the past few months, we have taken many initiatives to improve the network quality. For us, network quality is a continuous process. We are working very closely with the regulatory body on this case.
In your opinion, what is the way forward for the industry? Is GP hoping for a quick resolution?
We strongly believe that if we want to achieve the vision and ambition of Smart Bangladesh then we need to collaborate on every level for the nation's development.
The success of Grameenphone comes from the trust of our customers.
We have left no stone unturned and have been requesting both BTRC and the Telecom Ministry to conduct a joint drive-test to validate our reported network improvements and to compare respective operators' QoS status.
If we think about the free choice of customers, rights of investors and the progress of digital Bangladesh, then it is not logical to impose a ban on a performing operator impacting the level playing field.
Whether it be ministries or regulatory bodies, we all share a common vision and we all work towards realizing that common goal.
In order to realize the vision of Smart Bangladesh, we need to embody the spirit of collaboration and cooperation in a more uniform manner.
I still strongly believe that there is no animosity between us but more cooperation, I would say.
We have done two successful spectrum auctions over the last two consecutive years, 2021 and 2022 and have resolved long-standing issues like TowerCo and fibre roll out etc.
All these have been due to the spirit of our cooperation and collaboration. Grameenphone has played an important role in every issue. The success of the mobile industry should not stop here. We hope that the SIM ban will soon be lifted, and we can once again move forward and help better our society.
But for an organization like ours where customer service has always been the focus, every day is important.
When our customers are deprived of our services, it doesn't only affect us, but it has a negative impact on the socio-economic system of the entire country.
There is an opportunity to think deeply about the matter.
We are continuing discussions at various levels of government. We believe that such a decision can never be implemented without the ambition of Digital Bangladesh in sight.
Quality issues are the responsibility of everyone in the ecosystem. If everyone comes forward positively to address the issue, then it can be resolved today.
We are looking at the decision of the government and believe we will get a solution soon.
