All telcos fail to provide 4G speed in Barishal

Be it private or public or the largest or the smallest one, no telecom operators could meet the fourth generation (4G) data speed benchmarks in different districts of Barishal division. 

The operators are found to be providing poorer 4G download speed than the country's benchmarks, said the latest report of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) released on Wednesday. 

The BTRC has prepared the report after conducting a comprehensive Quality of Service (QoS) measurement through drive-tests in different locations of Barishal division from 25 October to 1 November 2021.

In the drive-test, the benchmarks for the 4G download speed was 7Mbps. But none of the mobile operators was found compliant with the benchmarks. 

Grameenphone's 4G download speed was 5.05Mbps while speed provided by Robi, Banglalink and Teletalk was 6.87Mbps, 5.68Mbps and 2.27Mbps respectively.  

Under the drive, the BTRC covered a stretch of 620 kilometres in 13 upazilas of four districts. 

The disappointing condition of mobile Internet speed came to the fore three days after a High Court directive that asked the mobile operators in the country to take speedy action to ensure clear voice calls, stable network and the fastest Internet service for customers.

The court at the same time formed a five-member supervisory committee to monitor the functions of the complaint cell of the BTRC for speedy solution of mobile network and mobile Internet related issues, and customer complaints.

When asked, Subrata Roy Maitra, vice-chairman at the BTRC, said they inform the mobile operators of all QoS reports to improve their services. 

Talking about the high court's directive, Subrata Roy Maitra said they have not received the copy of the order yet. 

However, the percentage of call drops under the mobile operators was found within the benchmark. 

Last week, the BTRC revealed the QoS report of Rangpur division, where three out of four telecom operators in the country were found non-compliant in supplying minimum 4G speed.

Market leader Grammenphone along with Banglalink and state-owned Teletalk failed to meet the 4G speed benchmark in the division.

In Sylhet and Rajshahi divisions, all the mobile operators, except Banglalink, were found to be providing lower speed of the 4G compared to the local benchmark.