The Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers' Association (BMPCA) has questioned the methodology and validity of OoKLA "Speedtest," and OpenSignal "Mobile Network Experience" reports on Bangladesh's telecom sector. Sunday, at a press conference in Dhaka's Segunbagicha,  BMPCA President Mohiuddin Ahmed said according to an Ookla analysis from the previous year, Bangladesh ranked 137th out of 139 nations in terms of mobile internet speed. "On June 25, the telecom regulator placed an indefinite suspension on the SIM card sale of Grameenphone for the operator's failure to provide quality service. But Grameenphone and Banglalink were named the top mobile operators of the country in a report released two days ago by OpenSignal," he added. Read: Grameenphone, Banglalink main competitors in service quality, capabilities: Opensignal Tanvir Hassan Zoha, an advisor of BMPCA, said none of the reports are accurate. He added: "They claimed that they had obtained consumer information from YouTube or Facebook, which is unacceptable given that the platforms never disclose user data to third parties. So, if they gained access to the customer's devices and took samples, they broke the law and violated data privacy." "Also, it is important to look into whether these organisations are using malware on BTS towers to acquire data from people in other countries."  

A total of 1,714 out of 2,528 mobile network sites in Sylhet, Sunamganj and Netrokona districts were re-connected till Saturday. Some 190 such sites are still out of network due to lack of electricity in these three districts, which the authorities hope will be connected shortly. Three Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) operators (Bahon Limited, Fiber at Home Limited and Summit Communications Limited) provide mobile networks in the three flood-prone districts. Most of the Link Peripheral Processors (LPP) of these network providers are currently active. Read: Flood situation remains grim across country The number of active LPPs also increased till Friday. A total of 105 Internet Service Providers (ISP) provide internet connections in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona and adjacent districts. These ISP companies have around 375 Point of Presence (PoP) in these areas. Flooding has caused severe shortage of electricity in the network installations of these companies, turning 34 of these PoPs’ inactive. The ISP companies are trying their best to keep internet connections stable in these flooded areas.

The government is working to restore the telecommunication network in the flood-affected areas of the northeast districts of the country. A total of 1,255 sites of Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink, and Teletalk have been reactivated out of 2,008 damaged sites due to flood water. Works are underway to activate the rest 753 affected sites, said a press release of the Post and Telecommunication Ministry on Wednesday. Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited has been working to set up 42 VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) under its own management and Bangladesh Army through Bangabandhu Satellite to restore telecommunication systems including the internet in the flood-affected districts. Bangladesh Army has already installed six VSAT hubs at Sylhet High-Tech Park, Sunamganj deputy commissioner’s office, Sunamganj circuit house office, Gobindaganj, Duara Bazar, and Dirai. Two more VSAT hub installations will be completed on Wednesday in Jaintapur and Gowainghat upazilas.   Read: Rail communication with Sylhet snapped amid flood Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited has set up VSAT at various places in Sylhet, Sunamganj, and Netrokona.    

A lot of work has been done in the telecom sector, but a great deal of work remains to be done, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said on Sunday.

 

Bangladesh has decided to lift restriction on 3G/4G mobile network in the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, which will be effective soon, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said.