Compensate for call drops

Telecoms division asks BTRC for measures

In a significant move, the Posts and Telecommunication Division has directed the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to take measures to return call minutes to subscribers in case of call drops.
The decision comes in the wake of a meeting of mobile phone operators called on October 19 by State Minister for Posts and Telecommu­nications Tarana Halim after State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar  Alam publicly expressed annoyance over call drops. The issue of call drops came up at the meeting and so did the issue of compensating telecom subscribers. Finally, at the initiative of ICT Adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sajeev Wajed Joy, the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry decided to direct BTRC to compensate for the call drops.
Earlier, both Grameen Phone (GP), the country’s largest mobile operator, and Banglalink had introduced refund for call drops. The operators promised their subscribers free talk time as compensation for frequent call drops. While Banglalink, at a press conference, announced “one minute back on call drop”, GP, on the same lines, announced “returning 30 seconds on each call drop”.
GP CMO Alan Bonke in a press statement had said GP subscribers would be compensated with 60 seconds in case of a call drop, so that they could be confident about their network. The statement further said that the offer that began on October 1, would be applicable to all calls under the GP network. However, a subscriber would receive a maximum 300 seconds or five minutes.
The release added that all GP subscribers would be able to enjoy the facility for which, there would be no need for registration. GP would inform subscribers about compensation through a SMS, whereas post-paid subscribers would get compensation along with their monthly bills.
Later, however, both GP and Banglalink discontinued the refund without letting their subscribers know. Regulators were informed about this.
Not surprisingly, GP, on October 19, came under renewed fire from Tarana over its poor services and frequent call drops. At a meeting of mobile phone operators the same day, Tarana said there were complaints of call drops against other operators as well.
According to sources present at the meeting, Tarana apparently asked GP to be “more attentive” in addressing problems faced by subscribers. “There are a huge number of complaints against GP. Since you are the largest mobile phone operator in the country, you have to be more cautious about the quality of your services,” Tarana told GP CEO Rajeev Sethi, who represented his company at the meeting.
Tarana also pointed out that despite repeated communication, GP had failed to address problems including call drops.
Right at the start of the meeting, she pointed at a Facebook post of Alam that said, “What is the problem with GP? It is impossible to make calls. Call drops. Couple of months ago, they used to send an apology SMS after call drop... no trace of that even!”
At the meeting, the results of a survey were also presented, which said that 48 per cent respondents had faced one call drop in every 10 calls whereas 30 per cent respondents had faced 2 call drops in every 10 calls.
Expressing dissatisfaction at GP’s failure to compensate subscribers for call drops, Tarana said, “You have come here to do business and we appreciate that. But doing business by cheating people is not acceptable.”
On his part, Rajeev said that last year’s announcement to compensate voice call drops with one minute of free talk time was a promotional offer. He said that since his company had the largest subscriber base, the number of complaints is higher than others.
He maintained that GP is continuing to invest in addressing the problems faced by subscribers. However, he remained silent when Tarana pointed out that she is well aware of the status of GP’s investment in improving the quality of its services.

Compensate for call drops

Telecoms division asks BTRC for measures

In a significant move, the Posts and Telecommunication Division has directed the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to take measures to return call minutes to subscribers in case of call drops. The decision comes in the wake of a meeting of mobile phone operators called on October 19 by State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim after State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam publicly expressed annoyance over call drops. The issue of call drops came up at the meeting and so did the issue of compensating telecom subscribers. Finally, at the initiative of ICT Adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sajeev Wajed Joy, the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry decided to direct BTRC to compensate for the call drops. Earlier, both Grameen Phone (GP), the countrys largest mobile operator, and Banglalink had introduced refund for call drops. The operators promised their subscribers free talk time as compensation for frequent call drops. While Banglalink, at a press conference, announced one minute back on call drop, GP, on the same lines, announced returning 30 seconds on each call drop. GP CMO Alan Bonke in a press statement had said GP subscribers would be compensated with 60 seconds in case of a call drop, so that they could be confident about their network. The statement further said that the offer that began on October 1, would be applicable to all calls under the GP network. However, a subscriber would receive a maximum 300 seconds or five minutes. The release added that all GP subscribers would be able to enjoy the facility for which, there would be no need for registration. GP would inform subscribers about compensation through a SMS, whereas post-paid subscribers would get compensation along with their monthly bills. Later, however, both GP and Banglalink discontinued the refund without letting their subscribers know. Regulators were informed about this. Not surprisingly, GP, on October 19, came under renewed fire from Tarana over its poor services and frequent call drops. At a meeting of mobile phone operators the same day, Tarana said there were complaints of call drops against other operators as well. According to sources present at the meeting, Tarana apparently asked GP to be more attentive in addressing problems faced by subscribers. There are a huge number of complaints against GP. Since you are the largest mobile phone operator in the country, you have to be more cautious about the quality of your services, Tarana told GP CEO Rajeev Sethi, who represented his company at the meeting. Tarana also pointed out that despite repeated communication, GP had failed to address problems including call drops. Right at the start of the meeting, she pointed at a Facebook post of Alam that said, What is the problem with GP? It is impossible to make calls. Call drops. Couple of months ago, they used to send an apology SMS after call drop... no trace of that even! At the meeting, the results of a survey were also presented, which said that 48 per cent respondents had faced one call drop in every 10 calls whereas 30 per cent respondents had faced 2 call drops in every 10 calls. Expressing dissatisfaction at GPs failure to compensate subscribers for call drops, Tarana said, You have come here to do business and we appreciate that. But doing business by cheating people is not acceptable. On his part, Rajeev said that last years announcement to compensate voice call drops with one minute of free talk time was a promotional offer. He said that since his company had the largest subscriber base, the number of complaints is higher than others. He maintained that GP is continuing to invest in addressing the problems faced by subscribers. However, he remained silent when Tarana pointed out that she is well aware of the status of GPs investment in improving the quality of its services.