Bangladesh's first mobile operator, Citycell, seeks reinstatement of its license

Citycell, the country's first mobile operator, which has been non-operational since 2016, has recently appealed to the telecom regulator for the reinstatement of its licence. In the letter, Citycell claimed that the cancellation of its licence was driven by an "unjustified perception" linking the company to a political party not favored by the ruling Awami League government at that time. "We regretfully inform you that over the past eight years, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL), Citycell’s parent company, has faced arbitrary decisions and assessments by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), driven by biased motives," the letter stated. "Additionally, the BTRC has taken discriminatory actions that exceed and abuse its powers, based solely on the unfounded belief that PBTL is aligned with a political party not in favor of the immediate past government," it added.