Citycell, the country's first mobile operator which has been out of operation since 2016, demanded reinstatement of its licence, in a letter sent recently to the telecom regulator, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC)
In the letter, the company said its licence cancellation was due to an "unjustified perception" that Citycell was affiliated with a political party not favoured by the then Awami League government.
"We regretfully inform you that, over the past eight years, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL), the parent company of Citycell, has been subjected to arbitrary decisions and assessments of the authoritieswith biased, ulterior and ill motives," the letter stated.
"Furthermore, evident discriminatory actions have been taken by the BTRC in excess and abuse of its powers based solely on the unjustified perception that PBTL is close to a political party not in favour of the immediate past government," it mentioned.
Citycell's operations were officially halted in 2016 after the telecom regulator cancelled the spectrum of Bangladesh's first mobile operator, which had served customers for more than two decades.
In October 2016, a technical team from the regulator rushed to Citycell's head office in Mohakhali, Dhaka, to shut its network switch after the operator failed to pay its dues on time.
