A recent Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) inspection has uncovered significant discrepancies between mobile operators’ claims of 98–99% 4G population coverage and the actual user experience across multiple districts. Despite strong public coverage figures from Grameenphone, Robi, and Banglalink, inspectors documented widespread dead zones, weak signals, frequent call drops, and poor indoor connectivity across urban and remote regions.
Inspection teams visited locations in Tangail, Bogura, Gaibandha, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Cumilla, Noakhali, Chattogram, Mymensingh, Jamalpur, and Sherpur—finding that 4G networks were unavailable in large parts of Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Sherpur, and several northeastern districts. Some areas had weak or no 2G or 4G signal at all. Hospitals, tea garden areas, and hilly terrain suffered from particularly poor connectivity.
The report notes operators failed to meet regulatory benchmarks and rollout obligations in Tangail, Bogura, and Gaibandha, violating licence conditions. Load-shedding worsened coverage outages, while customers also faced unauthorised balance deductions, call setup failures, and complications with e-SIM services.
BTRC recommended stricter enforcement of rollout benchmarks, adding more Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), improving billing oversight, and forming a joint monitoring cell to resolve customer complaints. Operators cited challenges such as costly low-band spectrum, urban construction blocking signals, and difficulties acquiring tower sites.
Despite operator assurances, the inspection highlights a persistent mismatch between reported coverage and on-the-ground reality—impacting students, farmers, small traders, and mobile banking users across the country.
