Robi Axiata PLC has set a new milestone in Bangladesh’s telecommunications sector by becoming the country’s first operator to officially launch commercial 5G services.
The service was inaugurated on Monday at Robi’s corporate office by Fayez Ahmad Tayyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology.
In his address, the chief guest, Fayez Ahmad Tayyeb, acknowledged that significant challenges remain in the development of Bangladesh’s telecom network, particularly the quality of 4G services, which he said is still unsatisfactory. “This is not the failure of any single operator but a collective shortcoming. The lack of quality 4G services is holding back business and digital service growth,” he said.
Highlighting the broader potential of next-generation connectivity, he added: “5G is an important milestone for Bangladesh’s progress. Beyond high-speed connectivity, it will open up new opportunities for economic growth, job creation, education, healthcare, and the development of smart cities. This technology will integrate our people more actively into the digital future.”
He also emphasized the urgent need to unlock additional low-band frequencies, not just 700 MHz but also 800 MHz and 900 MHz, to make 5G effective. “Low-band frequencies can carry signals across longer distances. If we rely only on high-band spectrum, both urban and rural coverage will require a much larger number of towers. Resolving the spectrum puzzle is therefore essential,” he noted.
Robi Axiata’s Acting CEO, M. Riaz Rashid, said: “It is thanks to the government’s vision and policy support that we have been able to bring 5G into reality in the shortest possible time.”
The event was also attended by Shish Hayder Chowdhury, Secretary of the ICT Division; Major General (Retd.) Md. Emdad Ul Bari, Chairman of BTRC; along with senior officials from both BTRC and Robi.