Compensation for unexpected call drops

No progress in implementation

There has been no progress in implementation of compensation for unexpected call drops despite an order by state minister for post and telecommunications Tarana Halim. Not even has the special team to monitor call drops been formed yet.
According to the secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, Faizur Rahman Chowdhury, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) was supposed to start work from the first week of June and telecom operators were scheduled to start paying compensation from July.
The BTRC has directed all mobile phone operators of the country to pay compensation for unexpected call drops to subscribers.
Earlier, the Posts and Telecommunications Division had asked the telecom regulator to monitor call drops and directed it to ensure compensation for the users.
Tarana Halim said the BTRC has already set up a machinery to monitor call drops and ensure the quality of services.
The BTRC said the telecom regulator would settle the issue of compensation for calls drops as soon as possible.
Expressing dissatisfaction, Tarana Halim said on May 15 that telecom operators would have to pay compensation of Tk1 for each call drop.
The day before that, the state minister had said subscribers should not suffer under any circumstances.
“The previous order has not been implemented. So I sat down with the operators. At the meeting, I asked the BTRC to monitor call drops instead of depending on the operators for information,” she added.
To ensure compensation for the subscribers, the BTRC would keep records of the unexpected call drops instead of the telecom operators, she said at that time.
The operators said that the issue of call drops requires further discussion.
Earlier, the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB), the platform for all cellular phone operators in the country, sent a letter to the BTRC, requesting it to meet the operators and apprise them of the facts and figures in respect of call drops.
On January 19, the BTRC directed all mobile operators of the country to pay compensation for unexpected call drops to subscribers.
At that time, when asked why mobile phone operators were reluctant to pay compensation, TIM Nurul Kabir, secretary general of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB), told The Independent that there were no clear directions for call drop compensation in the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU’s) and BTRC’s benchmarks for quality services, mentioned in the letter sent by BTRC.
On 28 January, Tarana Halim said mobile phone operators must inform their subscribers about the compensation, in case of call drops, through SMS.
“The mobile phone operators have to inform their subscribers about the compensation through SMS. If the subscribers are not informed, they might think that they are not getting compensation,” Tarana Halim said at a meeting with the chief executive officers of mobile phone operators.
Earlier, BTRC chairman Engineer Shahjahan Mahmood said it was monitoring whether the operators are providing 60 seconds of free talktime on each call drop as compensation, in accordance with the rules.
The BTRC will take steps if the regulator receives any allegations regarding call drops from the subscribers, he added.

Compensation for unexpected call drops

No progress in implementation

There has been no progress in implementation of compensation for unexpected call drops despite an order by state minister for post and telecommunications Tarana Halim. Not even has the special team to monitor call drops been formed yet. According to the secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, Faizur Rahman Chowdhury, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) was supposed to start work from the first week of June and telecom operators were scheduled to start paying compensation from July. The BTRC has directed all mobile phone operators of the country to pay compensation for unexpected call drops to subscribers. Earlier, the Posts and Telecommunications Division had asked the telecom regulator to monitor call drops and directed it to ensure compensation for the users. Tarana Halim said the BTRC has already set up a machinery to monitor call drops and ensure the quality of services. The BTRC said the telecom regulator would settle the issue of compensation for calls drops as soon as possible. Expressing dissatisfaction, Tarana Halim said on May 15 that telecom operators would have to pay compensation of Tk1 for each call drop. The day before that, the state minister had said subscribers should not suffer under any circumstances. The previous order has not been implemented. So I sat down with the operators. At the meeting, I asked the BTRC to monitor call drops instead of depending on the operators for information, she added. To ensure compensation for the subscribers, the BTRC would keep records of the unexpected call drops instead of the telecom operators, she said at that time. The operators said that the issue of call drops requires further discussion. Earlier, the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB), the platform for all cellular phone operators in the country, sent a letter to the BTRC, requesting it to meet the operators and apprise them of the facts and figures in respect of call drops. On January 19, the BTRC directed all mobile operators of the country to pay compensation for unexpected call drops to subscribers. At that time, when asked why mobile phone operators were reluctant to pay compensation, TIM Nurul Kabir, secretary general of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB), told The Independent that there were no clear directions for call drop compensation in the International Telecommunication Unions (ITUs) and BTRCs benchmarks for quality services, mentioned in the letter sent by BTRC. On 28 January, Tarana Halim said mobile phone operators must inform their subscribers about the compensation, in case of call drops, through SMS. The mobile phone operators have to inform their subscribers about the compensation through SMS. If the subscribers are not informed, they might think that they are not getting compensation, Tarana Halim said at a meeting with the chief executive officers of mobile phone operators. Earlier, BTRC chairman Engineer Shahjahan Mahmood said it was monitoring whether the operators are providing 60 seconds of free talktime on each call drop as compensation, in accordance with the rules. The BTRC will take steps if the regulator receives any allegations regarding call drops from the subscribers, he added.