BTRC wants to pull the plug on 2G handsets

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is apparently discouraging use and trade of second generation (2G) mobile phones, popularly known as basic or feature phones, as per letters it recently sent to listed handset importers, producers and vendors.

Mobile operators welcomed the move but the letter recipients say it would not be a workable approach to popularising smartphones.

About 70 per cent of the mobile phone users are still using 2G devices as most have no demand for higher technology and the telecom regulator should not deprive them, they said.

In the letter, the BTRC is said to be witnessing 2G devices dominating the market.

"The 3G mobile network has flourished in the market and 4G services is also being offered and the government also has a promise to enrol 5G services by 2023, for which basic phones need to be discouraged," it read.

The vendors are seeking clarity on the term "discourage".

Currently the letter bears no meaning, said Rezwanul Haque, chief executive officer of Transsion Bangladesh, which assembles 2G handsets of iTel brand and 4G ones of Techno brand.

"We have a huge number of mobile phones users in the country who do not need smartphones at all as they are using mobile phones only for talking. They even cannot text or save phone numbers in their handsets so why will the regulator make them use smartphones?"

A basic phone costs only Tk 750 but for smartphones at least Tk 3,000 is required and this extra spending will either be meaningless or unbearable for them, said Haque, a former general secretary of Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association.

There are also challenges regarding network quality across a huge part of the country. "This is why the youths who need or even want to use smartphones are not doing so," Haque added.

Dismissing the analysis, mobile phone operators said it was a much-needed direction and true advancement towards the vision of a Digital Bangladesh.

Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer at Robi, said their 4G network currently covers 75 per cent of the country's population, whereas 4G handset penetration had stalled at less than 30 per cent of mobile subscribers.

"This clearly shows that a significant portion of our network capacity is remaining underutilised."

Moreover, although Robi has become the country's first mobile carrier to introduce voice over long term evolution (VoLTE) technology, it does not have that much customers with VoLTE-enabled handsets, he said.

The VoLTE service will only benefit a small portion of the population, said the country's second largest carrier.

"In the interest of implementing the vision of Digital Bangladesh, we need to make an all-out effort to create the eco-system for a full-fledged digital society by increasing the use of smartphones in the market," Alam added.

Some 3.28 crore handsets were sold in the country in 2019, about 2.51 crore of which were basic phones, according to local manufacturers and importers.

About 54 lakh smart devices were locally manufactured last year, while another 24 lakh were imported via the legal and grey channels, according to industry insiders.

"This picture actually tells the real truth of Bangladesh, that the smartphone market has immense potential to grow," Haque said.

For that the industry needs to work together though.

"We never think that the market will be corrected only by issuing directives or orders."

Mobile carriers need to improve their quality and at the same time more and more of the digital services need to be on board so that customers feel the need for smartphones, Haque said.

Bangladesh witnessed the launch of 3G services in October 2012 and 4G in February 2018. The regulator is now formulating the 5G guidelines.