The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has approved a new Quality of Service (QoS) policy aimed at improving the country’s telecom services, requiring operators to answer customer service calls within 90 seconds and ensuring a minimum 4G speed of 10 Mbps.
Chief adviser's special assistant Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb shared the details in a Facebook post today (Aug 31).
He said the policy followed expert consultations after widespread criticism of poor telecom services in Bangladesh. The new QoS benchmarks, approved at last week’s BTRC commission meeting, will apply to mobile operators, Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) providers, and internet service providers (ISPs).
Under the new guidelines, BTRC will conduct monthly performance checks and network health reviews starting September.
The regulator said the measures reflect international practice and are designed to bring greater accountability to service providers.
The rules set stricter requirements, including reducing the permissible call drop rate, mandating minimum download speeds of 10 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 Mbps in 4G services, and raising standards across multiple service quality indicators. Operators must now submit mandatory monthly reports on network accessibility, retainability, and integrity.
According to BTRC, the previous QoS benchmarks were outdated and unrealistic. The updated directive, soon to be issued formally, is intended to make operators more accountable while improving service standards nationwide. Officials also noted that telecom providers had failed to invest adequately in 4G infrastructure, leading to poor service quality, and stressed that the new licensing policy will reinforce quality obligations.
Key provisions include:
• Call setup success rates of at least 99% at the network level and 98% at district and upazila levels.
• Call drop rates capped at 1% on 2G networks nationally and 1.5% at the upazila level.
• 4G connection success rates of 99% nationally and 98.5% at the district level.
• Average user download speeds of at least 3.5 Mbps nationally and 2.5 Mbps at the district level.
• Drive tests requiring a minimum 98% call setup success rate, less than 2% automatic call drops, and a minimum user experience rating of 3.5 for VoLTE.
• Minimum 4G download speed of 10 Mbps and upload speed of 2 Mbps.
Operators must also report the 50 worst-performing cells each month where accessibility and retainability indicators fall below thresholds. BTRC said this would enhance transparency, help identify weak areas quickly, and compel operators to improve especially in rural and semi-urban regions, where network issues and frequent call drops remain common.
The revised QoS standards also cover fixed internet, fixed telephony, and NTTN services. For fixed telephony, call setup success must exceed 99% with call connection time under six seconds, while call drop rates must remain below 1%. For internet services, local traffic latency should not exceed 25 ms, packet loss must stay under 1%, and availability should remain at or above 99%. Customers must receive at least 95% of the subscribed internet speed at the user end.
NTTN operators must ensure packet loss below 0.01%, latency under 5 ms, and jitter within 3 ms. Service disruptions on fiber networks must be resolved within four hours in metropolitan areas and six hours in rural regions.
The new rules regarding customer complaints mandate that all non-network-related issues be resolved within 28 days. Additionally, 90% of calls to customer service centres must be answered within 40 seconds, and all calls must be answered within 90 seconds.
SMS/
