Mobile call drop is a big problem: Telecom minister

The problem of call drop and network on mobile phones is a big problem all over the country, Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar said in Parliament on Tuesday.

He said this in response to a supplementary question from Syed Abu Hossain of the Jatiya Party.

“There is no one in the country who has not been the victim of a call drop. Besides, the mobile network is also not available in many places,” he said.

He said the number of subscribers of phone operating companies has increased a lot. Grameenphone has more than 8 crore subscribers, and Robi has more than 5 crore subscribers.

The minister said that the operators did not take even one-third of the required spectrum for their customer bases.

“Under pressure of the government, they increased the amount of spectrum last March. The problem will be solved if this wave is fully expanded by next December. If the companies do not fully expand the wave within this period, there is an opportunity to take action and impose fines against them,” the minister said.

Replying to another supplementary question, he expressed hope that Teletalk’s network would be expanded across the country by 2023.

The minister called upon all to become subscribers of the state-owned mobile operator.