Compensation for call drops from next month

Mobile phone subscribers will get a free minute for each call drop as compensation from next month if they experience the disruption more than once a day.

The decision came yesterday in a joint meeting of the telecom division, telecom regulator and mobile phone operators at the secretariat.

“I am not happy with the call drop issue and subscribers will not pay for it,” said Tarana Halim, state minister for telecom, after the meeting.

If subscribers face more than one call drop a day, they must be compensated for it and the operators will also have to inform them via SMS, she added.

“Customers’ rights cannot be compromised.”

In October last year, Tarana directed all mobile phone operators to improve their service quality, or they would have to compensate their customers. In January, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission made compensation for call drops mandatory.

However, operators ignored the issue and sent letters to the BTRC, asking for more discussion on call drops.

According to the International Telecommunication Union, 3 percent of call drops are moderate and mobile operators said they are far better than ITU's standards, which the BTRC also acknowledged.

Tarana said they would be strict about the implementation this time. Recently, the BTRC sent a proposal to the telecom division where it mentioned that subscribers will get compensation from the second call drop each day.

However, operators said there should be a limit to the amount a subscriber will be compensated for any single day.

As per the decision, the BTRC will form a committee that will monitor the implementation.

Tarana also asked operators to stop SMS-based telemarketing services.