BTRC to hold telecom service hearing on 19 Aug

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will hold a public hearing on 19 August to collect citizens’ complaints and opinions on telecommunication services.
In a notice, BTRC said the hearing will provide a platform for direct dialogue between customers and service providers, helping generate recommendations to improve service quality.
Senior officials from the Posts and Telecommunications Division, BTRC, and executives from mobile operators, internet service providers and other telecom entities will attend the session to respond to complaints and address service-related issues.
The hearing will be conducted both online and offline. 
However, interested individuals and organisations will be allowed to participate online only, and participation will be limited according to the platform’s maximum capacity, the notice said.
BTRC has invited individuals and organisations to submit their questions and opinions through an online registration form by 26 July. 
After reviewing the submissions, the commission will invite selected participants through email or SMS.
The regulator said it regularly conducts such public hearings to collect feedback on telecom services and address consumer concerns in the public interest.
Since 2016, BTRC has held five public hearings. The first, conducted on 22 November 2016, at the BTRC Auditorium in Dhaka, received 1,050 complaints related to call drops, slow internet speeds and biometric registration issues.
The second hearing, held on 12 June 2019, at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) building, received more than a hundred complaints, mainly concerning call drops and internet service quality.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, BTRC organised an online hearing on 22 August 2021, which recorded 23,016 complaints. 
More than a hundred citizens participated through Facebook Live, with network coverage, internet speed and data charges emerging as major concerns.
A hearing held on 8 December 2022, at the Radisson Blu Chittagong Hotel received 848 complaints focusing on call drops, 4G coverage and radiation concerns.
The most recent hearing, held on 8 May 2024, at the BTRC office in Dhaka, received 3,025 complaints related to call drops, internet speed, operator services and emergency recharge facilities.