The telecom regulator has recently allowed Grameenphone (GP) to sell unused pre-approved old numbers that were not in operation for over 450 days, an official of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said.

The approval was given on Thursday and GP started to sell those unused SIMs since Friday, the official added.

However, the BTRC official said the operator is not allowed to sell any new SIMs.

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GP barred from selling SIM cards

Unless the BTRC finds GP improving its quality of services, it will not be allowed to sell new SIMs, the official said.

"We appreciate that regulator has withdrawn the SIMS sales ban on unused pre-approved numbers to address customers' needs. We are committed to meeting customers' expectations," said Hossain Sadat, senior director and head of public and regulatory affairs.

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Ban on new SIM sales erodes GP subscriber base

The telecom watchdog banned Grameenphone from selling new SIM cards from June 30 for what it said was the operator's failure to provide quality service.

Although the BTRC banned Grameenphone from selling new SIMs on the grounds of call drops and low service quality, the network provider had earlier passed the regulator's test in this regard.

Grameenphone lost eight lakh customers in July and its number of customers stood at 8.40 crore by the end of that month.