Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
Profile
- Head
- Major General (retd) Md Emdad Ul Bari, OSP, NDC, psc
- Role
- Chairman
- Annual budget
- n/a
- Staff
- 369
- Established
- 2002
- Legal basis
- Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001 (Act No. XVIII of 2001), gazetted 16 April 2001; BTRC commenced operations 31 January 2002. Amended by Bangladesh Telecommunication (Amendment) Act, 2010.
Provenance & notes
BTRC commenced operations January 31, 2002 under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001 (Act No. XVIII of 2001). Chairman Md Emdad Ul Bari (Major General, retd) was appointed September 10, 2024 for a three-year term; his predecessor Md Mohiuddin Ahmed resigned August 14, 2024. Staff count of 369 is the sanctioned organogram approved in 2008; actual deployed headcount may differ. annual_budget_bdt is null: BTRC is a self-funding regulatory commission that collects spectrum fees, licence fees, and revenue sharing from operators; it does not receive a line-item parliamentary budget allocation in the same format as ministries and divisions. The FY2025-26 revenue target of Tk 3,825 crore (raised ~Tk 1,700 crore over prior year) is BTRC's collection target set by Finance Ministry, not an appropriation. 700 MHz auction (January 14, 2026): 25 MHz offered in five 5-MHz blocks; Grameenphone won 10 MHz (two blocks) at base price, no premium; 5 MHz blocked by AONB court case; 10 MHz now allocated to Teletalk via PTD directive April 24. Teletalk dues to BTRC: Tk 55.06 billion spectrum fees + Tk 1.20 billion licence fees + Tk 1.02 billion revenue sharing + Tk 620 million other = approximately Tk 57.90 billion total. QoS: the framework in the notable_events entry (dated 2026-02-17 as the midpoint of the 90-day window) records the enforcement state as of the window opening; the original directive effective date is September 1, 2025. Broadband tariff notification April 27 applies to ISP licensees individually; the policy is 'One Nation, One Rate' announced by PTD; BTRC's Systems and Services Division issues the individual licences and tariff approvals. Cross-verified against: PTD record (posts-and-telecommunications-division.json), TBS, Daily Star, Financial Express, Telecompaper, Mobile World Live, BSS -- all material claims have 2+ independent sources. Activity evidence hold: removed 2 exact generated refresh event(s) on read. Generated scores, positions, activity actions and verification stamps are unavailable. Retained events and unmatched action text require source review; original raw records are unchanged.
Sources
- https://btrc.gov.bd/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Telecommunication_Regulatory_Commission
- https://btrc.portal.gov.bd/site/page/3bc9dbed-7deb-4f92-b37e-a1a62f77637f
- https://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/Documentation/Bangladesh/BTRC-TelecomLaw2001.pdf
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/major-general-emdad-ul-bari-appointed-btrc-chairman-938016
- https://www.bssnews.net/news/208780
- https://btrc.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/btrc.portal.gov.bd/officer_list/5217703d_433a_46bb_b6bd_a450a590361f/2024-11-07-03-40-a32b68d55c0b72f65e1b51736520da5a.pdf
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/grameenphone-gets-bangladeshs-first-700mhz-spectrum-tk2370-crore-1340206
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/long-awaited-700-mhz-spectrum-auction-on-jan-14
- https://www.mobileworldlive.com/regulation/grameenphone-secures-700mhz-spectrum/
- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/teletalk-gets-10-mhz-700-mhz-band-despite-huge-dues-4166866
- https://www.telecompaper.com/news/teletalk-assigned-700-mhz-spectrum-via-govt-directive-despite-bdt-55-billion-in-unpaid-dues--1562745
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/home/spectrum-allocation-to-teletalk-irks-private-operators
- https://viewsbangladesh.com/btrc-sets-new-internet-prices/
- https://en.shampratikdeshkal.com/bangladesh/news/210619043/btrc-launches-one-country-one-rate-broadband-internet-tariff-plan
- https://digibanglatech.news/154024
- https://btrc.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/btrc.portal.gov.bd/page/2f2e55a5_f856_40a4_b0f3_6839b3905318/2025-09-03-09-36-ba00bd44d30f1ae57e32ab22768559d5.pdf
- https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/9tlm5n5k3c
- https://www.archyde.com/bangladesh-mobile-qos-btrc-benchmarks-4g-performance-2025/
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/govt-raises-btrc-revenue-target-tk1700cr-commission-says-goal-unrealistic-1263221
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/telecom/btrc-auction-700mhz-spectrum-january-2026-base-price-set-tk237cr-mhz-1296526