The Reality of Telecom Services in Bangladesh

Hello dear friends,
I hope you all are doing well and spending a beautiful life with your loved ones. I wish you all happiness and peace.

There are only five mobile telecom operators in Bangladesh. These are Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink, Airtel, and Teletalk, which is owned by the Bangladesh government. Apart from these five, no other mobile SIM is available in the country. This means people have very limited choices when it comes to mobile network services.

Among all these operators, Grameenphone is the most popular and widely used. The main reason is its strong network coverage. Whether in cities or rural areas, Grameenphone usually provides better signal than others. Because of this, most people use Grameenphone SIM even though it is very expensive.

Grameenphone charges higher call rates per minute compared to other operators. Their internet and bundle packages are also costly. Still, people have no option but to use it because they want stable network and better service. Good service comes at a high price, and ordinary people are forced to accept it.

In city areas, many people prefer Robi, Airtel, and Banglalink because these operators sometimes offer cheaper packages. However, Teletalk, the only government-owned telecom operator, is mostly ignored by users. The reason is simple—poor service quality. Sadly, even though Teletalk belongs to our country, people avoid using it. There is also no strong initiative from the government to improve this service. As a result, Teletalk remains weak while private companies continue to grow.

I personally use two SIM cards—one Robi SIM and one Grameenphone SIM. A few days ago, suddenly my Grameenphone SIM lost network signal completely. I could not make calls, use the internet, or receive messages. The SIM became totally inactive.

To solve the problem, I visited a Grameenphone service center in Jatrabari. The officials there told me that my SIM card was damaged. When I asked how and why it was damaged, they could not give any clear answer. I was confused because my SIM was working fine before. It is hard to understand how a running SIM can suddenly stop working.

Then I asked about the solution. They told me that I have to collect a replacement SIM, but I must pay 400 taka. I requested them to reduce the charge, but they clearly said no discount was possible.

Imagine the situation—my active and working SIM suddenly became useless, and now I am being asked to pay 400 taka to get it back. Feeling angry and helpless, I left the service center without taking the SIM.

Now I am using my Robi SIM for all communication. But the biggest problem is that I opened my bKash, Nagad, and Rocket mobile banking accounts using my Grameenphone number. Since the SIM is disconnected, all three accounts are now blocked.

The most worrying issue is that my office salary will be sent to my Rocket account within a few days. If I cannot recover my Grameenphone SIM, I will not be able to withdraw my salary. Unfortunately, at this moment, I do not even have 400 taka to collect the replacement SIM.

This situation has made me completely confused and helpless. As a common customer, I feel we have no power or value. Big telecom companies make decisions as they wish, and ordinary people suffer silently. This is the harsh reality of the telecom system in Bangladesh.