[🇧🇩] Telecommunication Industry in Bangladesh

[Saif]

Govt has no plan to sell Teletalk, steps underway to upgrade services: Minister

Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam on Sunday said the government has no plan to sell the state-owned mobile operator Teletalk, stressing that the company must remain under government ownership to ensure healthy competition in the country’s telecom

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Govt has no plan to sell Teletalk, steps underway to upgrade services: Minister

Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam on Sunday said the government has no plan to sell the state-owned mobile operator Teletalk, stressing that the company must remain under government ownership to ensure healthy competition in the country’s telecom market.

Replying to a supplementary question from BNP lawmaker in reserve seats Sanjida Yasmin during the question-answer session in the Jatiya Sangsad, the minister said initiatives are underway to expand Teletalk’s network and improve its service quality through government and foreign financing.

The House, presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, was informed that four mobile operators—Teletalk, Grameenphone, Robi and Banglalink—are currently operating in the country.

The minister said Teletalk requires more mobile towers to enhance its network coverage and service quality, which demands substantial investment.

“We must keep Teletalk in the market. It has to remain under government ownership,” he said, adding that without the state-run operator, private mobile companies might increase service charges at their discretion.

Responding to a question from reserved seat lawmaker Nadia Pathan Papon, the minister said the government is looking into the matter about the expiry of unused mobile data after seven-day or 15-day internet packages.

He said the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has already held several rounds of discussions with mobile operators on the issue, but the operators have cited their business policies in support of the existing system.

The minister also said discussions have been held with mobile operators regarding call drops and assured the House that pressure on the operators would continue to safeguard consumers’ interests.

Replying to a question from Jashore-6 lawmaker Moktar Ali, the minister said work is underway to provide 109,004 broadband internet connections across the country under the Digital Connectivity Establishment Project.

He said broadband connectivity has already been provided to 57,000 institutions, including colleges affiliated with the National University, secondary and higher secondary schools, government primary schools, madrasas, technical educational institutions, community clinics, land offices and district courts.

The minister also said the government is planning to introduce expatriate help desks at Digital Centres to facilitate services for overseas Bangladeshis and make remittance transactions easier.

In reply to a question from Sherpur-1 lawmaker Rashedul Islam Rashed, he said the government would coordinate with Teletalk and other operators to improve network coverage in areas where mobile connectivity remains unavailable, provided specific information about those locations is supplied.

Participating in the discussion, Sylhet-5 lawmaker Abul Hasan said mobile network coverage remains extremely poor in the border areas of Zakiganj and Kanaighat.

In response, the minister said necessary measures, including the installation of additional towers, would be considered after receiving detailed information about the affected areas.

In a supplementary question, Lakshmipur-1 lawmaker Shahadat Hossain Selim said many post offices in his constituency have become dilapidated, while some have turned into places for drug addicts and miscreants.

The minister said there are more than 9,000 post offices across the country and most of them are in poor condition. Since renovating all of them simultaneously is not feasible, the government is carrying out renovation work in phases.

Replying to a question from Patuakhali-2 lawmaker Shafiqul Islam, the minister said the government is working to engage young people in artificial intelligence, freelancing and other internet-based professions to help protect them from harmful online activities.

He said training centres are being established at the upazila level to enhance the skills of young people and make them self-reliant. “Training has already started in several upazilas and will gradually be expanded to the remaining ones,”

In reply to a question from Naogaon-5 lawmaker Zahidul Islam Dholu, the minister said technology-neutral licenses have already been issued to mobile operators to facilitate nationwide expansion of 5G services.

He said spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 2.6 GHz bands has already been allocated for 5G deployment, while a new spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band will be released in 2027.

Replying to a question from Chandpur-4 lawmaker Abdul Hannan, the minister said the Department of Information and Communication Technology has undertaken a five-year programme to train people as freelancers across the country.

He added that identity cards will also be issued to 200,000 freelancers.​

 

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https://www.newagebd.net/post/telecom/307742/btrc-fines-four-mobile-operators-tk-868cr

BTRC fines four mobile operators Tk 8.68cr

Using SIMs for VoIP link alleged

Staff Correspondent 27 July, 2026, 01:15

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has fined four mobile phone operators a combined Tk 8.68 crore after identifying 8,682 SIM cards that were allegedly used for illegal international call termination through Voice over Internet Protocol, intensifying the regulator’s ongoing crackdown on unauthorised telecom activities.

In separate notices issued on July 21 under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act, 2001, the telecom regulator directed Grameenphone, Robi Axiata, Banglalink and state-owned Teletalk to pay the fines within 10 days of receiving the orders and submit documentary proof of payment.

The BTRC warned that failure to comply would invite further action under the telecommunications law and other applicable regulations.

According to the regulator, the penalties were imposed at the rate of Tk 10,000 for each SIM card found to have been used in illegal VoIP operations.

Robi Axiata received the highest penalty of Tk 5.93 crore for 5,935 SIM cards, followed by Banglalink with Tk 1.88 crore for 1,882 SIMs.

Teletalk was fined Tk 68.10 lakh for 681 SIM cards, while Grameenphone received the lowest penalty of Tk 18.40 lakh for 184 SIMs.

A BTRC official, speaking to New Age on condition of anonymity, said the SIM cards were seized during joint enforcement operations conducted by the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre.

‘These operations are carried out jointly with the NTMC. During on-site inspections, we seize SIM cards being used for illegal VoIP activities in Cumilla and Chattogram,’ the official said.

The official said the law provides for a penalty of Tk 10,000 for every SIM card found to be involved in illegal VoIP operations, and the fines were calculated accordingly.

The raids are part of a continuing enforcement programme based on intelligence and information received from different sources, the official said.

Responding to questions over repeated violations by mobile operators, the official said the commission was following the due process prescribed under existing laws and licence conditions.

‘The operators have been instructed to pay the fines within 10 days. They will have the opportunity to submit their explanations, including any technical measures they had in place to prevent illegal call termination. The commission will assess those explanations before taking a final decision,’ the official said.

The BTRC official maintained that preventing illegal VoIP was a mandatory licensing obligation for all mobile operators and that penalties would continue whenever operators failed to prevent such misuse.

Robi Axiata, however, questioned the basis of the penalty.

Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer of Robi Axiata PLC, said the company had not yet received any official notice from the BTRC and that media reports did not accurately reflect the actual situation.

‘Our preliminary review indicates that more than 95 per cent of the SIMs referred to had already been disconnected from the network long ago through Robi’s self-regulatory barring mechanism,’ he said.

He argued that merely finding barred SIM cards at alleged VoIP sites did not establish any regulatory breach by the operator and said any assessment should be based on verified evidence and proper technical analysis.

Shahed also said Robi remained firmly committed to preventing illegal VoIP activities and operated in full compliance with the regulator’s rules and guidelines.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers’ Association president Mohiuddin Ahmed said the fines alone were insufficient and called for identifying those directly responsible for operating the illegal networks.

‘If thousands of SIM cards were used in illegal VoIP operations over a long period, this is not merely a licensing violation. It raises serious concerns over government revenue, national security and regulatory oversight,’ he said.

He called for an independent investigation involving the BTRC, NTMC, law enforcement agencies and the Anti-Corruption Commission to identify the individuals and networks behind the illegal operations, determine the extent of revenue losses and strengthen regulatory accountability.

While VoIP itself is a legitimate technology for transmitting voice calls over the internet, illegal operators bypass authorised international gateways by routing overseas calls into Bangladesh through SIM boxes loaded with local SIM cards.

The calls appear as domestic mobile calls, enabling operators to evade international termination charges and taxes, causing significant revenue losses to the government.​

 

[Saif]

https://www.newagebd.net/post/telecom/309257/global-ai-demand-surge-puts-dent-in-local-handset-production

Global AI demand surge puts dent in local handset production
Sojib Miah 10 August, 2026, 00:46

Bangladesh’s local mobile handset industry is facing mounting pressure as surging global demand for artificial intelligence-related hardware pushes up memory chip prices and tightens supplies, forcing local manufacturers to scale back smartphone production despite continued demand on the domestic market.

Industry insiders said that the latest slowdown was largely a result of global supply constraints, rather than weaknesses in Bangladesh’s manufacturing capacity.

Rising component costs, inflation, higher operating expenses and cautious consumer spending have also prompted manufacturers to reduce production of 4G and 5G handsets.

Data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission showed that locally assembled handsets fell to 16.29 lakh units in June 2026, down 24.1 per cent from the 21.47 lakh units assembled in July 2025.

The decline was mainly driven by smartphones. Production of 5G handsets fell 45.1 per cent to 0.28 lakh units, while 4G smartphone production dropped 37.7 per cent to 4.73 lakh units.

Feature phone production also fell 15.6 per cent to 11.29 lakh units in June.

Despite the decline, feature phones accounted for nearly 70 per cent of total locally assembled handsets, while smartphones made up only about 30 per cent.

In July 2025, feature phones accounted for 62.63 per cent of local production, compared with 37.37 per cent for smartphones.

The contraction in Bangladesh mirrors a growing stress on the global smartphone market.

Reuters reported that global smartphone shipments are expected to fall 13.9 per cent this year to 1.08 billion units, marking the largest annual decline on record.

The downgrade has been linked to worsening memory chip shortages, geopolitical tensions and chipmakers’ growing focus on AI-related hardware.

Samsung has warned that global memory shortages could persist until 2028, underscoring the widening gap between AI-driven demand and consumer electronics requirements.

Xiaomi Bangladesh country manager Ziauddin Chowdhury told New Age that the fall in local production was primarily caused by higher global component prices rather than weak domestic demand.

‘This isn’t really a local issue. It is being driven by global factors, particularly rising chip prices,’ he said.

According to him, memory prices have been increasing by 10 to 15 per cent every quarter, raising the cost of integrated components and making manufacturers more cautious about production planning.

Some companies, he said, had deliberately slowed production while waiting for global component prices to stabilise.

Ziauddin, however, did not expect the production decline to trigger a major resurgence of Bangladesh’s grey market, arguing that memory costs had risen worldwide.

He said that recently announced fiscal measures, once fully implemented, would help create a more competitive market by reducing opportunities for excessive profit-taking.

Explaining the dominance of feature phones in local production, Ziauddin said that smartphone manufacturing costs had risen sharply over the past six months. Modern Android operating systems require substantially more memory than before, making low-cost smartphones increasingly difficult to manufacture profitably, he added.

‘Earlier this year, memory accounted for only about 15 to 20 per cent of the cost of a 4GB/64GB smartphone. Now it represents around 55 to 60 per cent of the total production cost,’ he said.

He attributed the increase to booming global investment in AI technologies.

Major memory manufacturers are prioritising high-bandwidth memory and enterprise-grade chips used in AI data centres because those products offer higher returns than conventional smartphone memory, he said.

‘Companies developing AI services earn recurring revenue from those chips, while handset manufacturers receive only one-time revenue from device sales. Naturally, suppliers are allocating more capacity to AI-related products,’ he said.

Despite the short-term slowdown, Ziauddin remained optimistic about the industry’s long-term prospects.

He said that smartphone demand would continue to grow as AI-powered services become increasingly integrated into everyday life.

Manufacturers, he added, were likely to offer more promotions, instalment facilities and affordability programmes to stimulate demand once supply conditions improve.

HONOR Bangladesh business head Abdullah Al Mamun said that the production decline reflected a combination of global and domestic economic pressures rather than any deterioration in Bangladesh’s manufacturing capability.

He said that higher chipset and memory prices, rising energy and logistics costs linked to geopolitical conflicts, inflation, cautious consumer spending and temporary business uncertainty had all weighed on production.

Mamun said that consumers had become increasingly price-sensitive, extending replacement cycles or choosing lower-priced and second-hand devices. Taxation and duty structures also continued to influence the economics of local manufacturing, he said.

He warned that the expanding grey market remained a concern because unofficial devices bypass taxes and regulatory requirements, creating unfair competition for legitimate manufacturers investing in local assembly and after-sales services.

Mamun called for stronger enforcement of the National Equipment Identity Register, continued incentives for 4G and 5G handset manufacturing, lower tax burdens, greater localisation of components and a stable long-term policy environment.

He said that Bangladesh had already established a solid foundation for handset production and could emerge as a competitive regional electronics manufacturing hub with consistent policy support, improved investment conditions and stronger collaboration among the government, industry and academia, despite current global market volatility over time.​