Mahmudul Hasan

The Advisory Council has finally approved the Bangladesh Telecommunication (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 barring state-led internet shutdowns and introducing limited measures for accountability in surveillance, while establishing a quasi-judicial body comprising members of the government executive body to oversee interception.

The High Court (HC) has recently stayed the enforcement of significant market power (SMP) regulations on Grameenphone (GP) for three months.

The stay also restores Grameenphone’s inter-operator call charge to Tk 0.10 per minute

The telecom regulator sent a letter on Friday to senior Meta officials, including representatives responsible for Facebook

The contraction was driven entirely by mobile internet connections

Officials say the army often needs reliable connectivity in hard-to-reach areas where private operators are unwilling to invest

The grey market now accounts for as much as 60 percent of handset sales

When the official market is constrained, the grey market thrives, and that is precisely what has happened in the mobile phone sector of Bangladesh.

The Awami League’s flagship Digital Bangladesh vision functioned largely as “an architecture of political slogan” rather than a coherent national digital strategy, according to a government-commissioned white paper.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has decided to introduce a separate SIM numbering series for Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices to manage the country’s rapidly growing network of smart gadgets and sensors.

The white paper paints a bleak picture of a sector "structurally misaligned, operationally compromised and failing to deliver trusted, affordable connectivity"

The government has approved a 10 percent reduction in the price of the 700 MHz frequency band, often called the “golden spectrum” for mobile networks, as the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) prepares for an auction.

Subscribers of all major operators report the same experience, despite the "reliable 4G" and "5G-ready" claims in telecom marketing

A recent inspection by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has exposed deficiencies in mobile network services, highlighting a gap between operators’ claims of nationwide 4G coverage and the reality on the ground.

The two operators are demanding a formal investigation

While digital transactions — covering payments through mobile wallets, internet banking, and other electronic channels — grew in volume in Bangladesh in 2024, their share of total payments declined, according to the Bangladesh Payment Systems Report 2024 published by Bangladesh Bank.

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) has raised concerns about Bangladesh’s draft telecom licensing guidelines, cautioning that several proposed conditions could deter investment, restrict market participation, and contradict the objectives of the Telecommunications Network and Licensing Policy (TNLP) 2025.

The government has decided to reserve 10 MHz of the valuable 700 MHz band exclusively for state-owned Teletalk once a pending court case is resolved, raising concerns among industry experts about underutilisation and anti-competitive effects.

BTRC writes to tax authority

The introduction of new taxation provisions by the BTRC to different licensing layers could increase costs for broadband service providers