Business Desk : dhakamirror.com
The telecom regulator recently permitted Grameenphone (GP) to sell unused pre-approved old numbers that had been out of service for more than 450 days, a Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) official said.
Grameenphone has already started selling SIM cards against its suspended unused numbers, following regulatory approval.
But, the ban on the country’s largest mobile network operator from selling new SIMs is still there, the BTRC official said.
Unless the BTRC finds GP improving its quality of services, it will not be allowed to sell new SIMs, the official said.
“We appreciate that regulator has withdrawn the SIMS sales ban on unused pre-approved numbers to address customers’ needs. We are committed to meeting customers’ expectations,” said Hossain Sadat, senior director and head of public and regulatory affairs.
The telecom watchdog banned Grameenphone from selling new SIM cards from June 30 for what it said was the operator’s failure to provide quality service.
Although the BTRC banned Grameenphone from selling new SIMs on the grounds of call drops and low service quality, the network provider had earlier passed the regulator’s test in this regard.
Grameenphone lost eight lakh customers in July and its number of customers stood at 8.40 crore by the end of that month.
