Robi Axiata performed below its two major private-sector rivals on several important mobile-network quality indicators in July, according to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's (BTRC) first independently verified Quality of Service (QoS) report.
BTRC's monitored data show that Robi recorded the lowest 4G average download throughput, 2G call-setup success rate, 4G data-session retention performance, VoLTE call-setup success rate, combined voice-setup success rate and SMS completion rate among the three private operators - Robi, Grameenphone and Banglalink.
The regulator's report, covering July 2026, is significant as BTRC has for the first time reconciled, reviewed and verified operators' submitted QoS data. The assessment covers network performance at national, district and upazila levels.
At the national level, BTRC recorded Robi's 2G call-setup success rate at 99.2877 per cent, against 99.6323 per cent for Grameenphone and 99.7270 per cent for Banglalink.
Robi's 4G average user-equipment download throughput was 6.8477 Mbps, substantially below Grameenphone's 8.2264 Mbps and Banglalink's 8.6070 Mbps.
Robi also recorded the highest 4G data-session non-retainability rate among the three at 0.2462 per cent, compared with 0.1423 per cent for Grameenphone and 0.0911 per cent for Banglalink. As a lower figure is better for this indicator, Robi's performance was the weakest.
Similarly, Robi's VoLTE call-setup success rate stood at 99.6549 per cent, compared with 99.7320 per cent for Grameenphone and 99.9208 per cent for Banglalink.
For combined VoLTE and GSM voice calls, Robi's voice-setup success rate was 99.5964 per cent, the lowest among the three, against 99.6669 per cent for Grameenphone and 99.7625 per cent for Banglalink.
Robi also lagged substantially in SMS completion, with BTRC recording 98.7495 per cent, compared with 99.6211 per cent for Grameenphone and 99.8086 per cent for Banglalink.
Robi performs better on some voice indicators:
The report, however, does not show uniformly weak performance by Robi.
Robi recorded the best 2G call-drop rate at 0.2405 per cent, ahead of Grameenphone's 0.3298 per cent and Banglalink's 0.3566 per cent. It also posted the highest 4G RRC success rate at 99.8695 per cent.
Robi's VoLTE drop rate was 0.1348 per cent, better than Grameenphone's 0.3814 per cent but behind Banglalink's 0.0732 per cent. For combined VoLTE and GSM calls, Robi had the lowest abnormal release rate at 0.2115 per cent.
Its CSFB success rate stood at 98.8942 per cent, higher than Grameenphone's 98.6453 per cent but lower than Banglalink's 99.1856 per cent.
Banglalink strongest on several indicators:
Banglalink emerged as the strongest performer on several national indicators. It had the highest 4G download speed at 8.6070 Mbps, the highest 2G call-setup success rate at 99.7270 per cent, the lowest 4G data-session non-retainability at 0.0911 per cent, the highest VoLTE call setup success rate at 99.9208 per cent, the lowest VoLTE abnormal release rate at 0.0732 per cent and the highest SMS completion rate at 99.8086 per cent.
It also recorded the highest CSFB success rate, at 99.1856 per cent. All 64 monitored national test points complied with the relevant KPIs, while its district-level monitored counts were fully compliant at 538 out of 538 for the listed indicators.
Grameenphone delivers mixed performance:
Grameenphone's performance was mixed. It delivered 8.2264 Mbps average 4G download speed and maintained a 99.6323 per cent 2G call-setup success rate. Its 4G RRC success rate was 99.8345 per cent.
However, its VoLTE abnormal release rate of 0.3814 per cent was the highest among the three private operators, while its combined abnormal release rate of 0.3478 per cent was also higher than both of Robi and Banglalink.
Despite the differences, all three private operators met the national thresholds for the listed KPIs in BTRC's monitored assessment.
Teletalk records weakest overall position:
State-owned Teletalk recorded the weakest overall position in the assessment, with significant gaps emerging particularly in 4G network performance at district and upazila levels.
Teletalk declared a national 4G average download speed of 11.2 Mbps, higher than the three private operators.
However, BTRC could not independently verify the figure through its monitoring system because of incomplete raw/binary files. Consequently, the commission could not determine verified monitoring values for several important indicators.
