Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers Association (BMPCA) on Saturday called for effective measures and stronger oversight to prevent customer harassment over international roaming services provided by mobile operators.
In a statement, BMPCA President Mohiuddin Ahmed said consumers are increasingly facing difficulties with international roaming services of Bangladeshi mobile operators while travelling abroad.
He said complaints include delays in activating roaming packages after purchase, failure to connect to networks abroad, extremely slow internet speeds, unclear package validity and benefits, and difficulties in getting effective customer support in emergencies.
“During a recent visit to China, I also experienced some of these problems with international roaming. Several businesspeople personally complained to me, saying they had purchased 15-day roaming packages from Grameenphone but the service lasted only three days. Some others said they had purchased packages from Robi and Banglalink but were not getting proper network connectivity,” Mohiuddin said.
He said mobile connectivity abroad is not merely a means of entertainment or social communication. It is essential for banking, email, office work, online payments, maps, emergency communication and staying in touch with family members.
“As a result, when roaming services fail, a customer can effectively be left at risk of losing essential communication while abroad,” he said.
The statement said a Bangladeshi travellers in India also contacted the BMPCA on Saturday, reporting that a Grameenphone roaming package had failed to activate, causing difficulties in using mobile internet.
The customer contacted the operator but did not receive a solution. Later, following the operator’s advice, the customer purchased another smaller package and was able to use the internet for some time.
The BMPCA said the incident was an individual complaint, but if similar problems are being experienced by multiple customers, the issue should not be viewed merely as an individual grievance.
It said the quality of international roaming services and customer support should be reviewed at the regulatory level.
The association noted that mobile operators are promoting various international roaming packages and technologies. Grameenphone, for example, currently offers roaming packages that can be purchased in Bangladeshi taka and provides roaming services in various countries.
The operator says roaming service depends on partnerships with roaming networks as well as network and service coverage in the respective countries.
“But when a customer purchases a package, they are not merely buying a package, they are expecting uninterrupted communication services,” the BMPCA said.
It said if a customer finds after arriving abroad that a package has not been activated, the SIM cannot connect to a network or internet speeds are not usable, problems involving the operator’s technical system or a foreign partner network should not leave the customer without an effective solution.
“The responsibility for ensuring the effectiveness of the service sold to customers should lie with the operator,” the association said.
The BMPCA urged the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to ensure that customers receive immediate and clear confirmation of whether a roaming package has been successfully activated after purchase.
It also called for an automatic refund where a customer is charged for a package that fails to activate.
The association further demanded that customers be clearly informed about the partner networks available in each country, the 4G/5G technologies supported and the expected service quality.
It said roaming advertisements should clearly mention not only data allowances but also service limitations and other factors that may affect usability.
The BMPCA also called for a 24-hour international roaming support system capable of providing prompt technical assistance to customers abroad.
It said customers should be able to determine whether a service problem is related to their package, the Bangladeshi operator or the foreign partner network.
The association urged operators to regularly provide the regulator with information on the number and types of roaming-related complaints and the time taken to resolve them.
It said existing telecommunications guidelines already contain provisions for consumer-friendly complaint mechanisms and for maintaining and reporting complaint-related information.
The BMPCA also called for operators to identify the underlying technical causes when similar roaming problems recur instead of simply advising customers to purchase another package.
The association said international roaming should not be treated merely as a commercial package, as it is linked to consumer rights, emergency communication and the overall quality of Bangladesh’s telecommunications services.
The BMPCA also pointed out that although 5G is being discussed in Bangladesh, Grameenphone’s current roaming information does not list 5G as available for its outbound international roaming service.
It said ensuring the practical usability, reliability and customer support of existing roaming services should receive adequate attention alongside the promotion of new technologies.
“We urge the BTRC and mobile operators to assess the actual quality of international roaming services and take prompt and effective measures to reduce customer suffering. Selling a roaming package is not the end of the matter; the real question for customers is whether that package works reliably abroad,” the statement said.