Telecom equipment thefts rise in and around Dhaka

Mobile operators have warned of a sharp rise in the theft and vandalism of critical network equipment in and around Dhaka, saying the incidents are disrupting services and causing financial losses.

In a September 16 letter to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) urged the regulator to ask law enforcement agencies to investigate the thefts and take action against those responsible.

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AMTOB said repeated theft and vandalism at telecom sites had caused serious problems for operators over the past eight months.

The affected areas include Badda, Mohammadpur, Lalbagh, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Savar and Gazipur. Stolen equipment includes power cables, remote radio units (RRUs), base transceiver station (BTS) cards, feeder cables and batteries.

AMTOB said such incidents “appear to have increased significantly” from last year. Its data, however, show a mixed picture across different types of equipment.

Grameenphone, Robi Axiata, Banglalink and Teletalk together reported 170 BTS cards stolen up to August this year, compared with 47 in 2025. Grameenphone’s losses rose from six to 75, Robi’s from 10 to 48 and Banglalink’s from nine to 29. Teletalk’s fell from 22 to 18.

Power-cable thefts also increased at the three private operators. Grameenphone lost 507 metres, compared with 153 metres in 2025; Robi lost 417 metres, up from 211 metres; and Banglalink lost 291 metres, compared with 189 metres.

Teletalk, however, reported 6,749 metres of power cable stolen, slightly below the 7,442 metres reported in 2025.

Other categories recorded declines. RRU thefts fell to 194 from 314, while battery thefts dropped to 756 from 1,247.

AMTOB has not provided historical data to support its broader claim of a significant increase beyond the figures for 2025 and August 2026. In 2019, however, the association told the media that around 2,195 incidents of tower-site theft had occurred in 2018 alone.

AMTOB said the thefts had caused network outages, leaving users unable to make emergency calls, run businesses or access digital services. The incidents have also resulted in revenue losses, unplanned capital expenditure and damage to customer trust, it said.

Lt Col Mohammad Zulfikar (retd), secretary general of AMTOB, said thefts of power cables, batteries and other equipment from mobile network infrastructure had increased “manifold” over the past couple of years.

“During the last 20 months, approximately 16,000 metres of power cable, more than 2,000 batteries, and over 500 RRUs have been stolen,” he said.

Tanveer Mohammad, chief corporate affairs officer of Grameenphone, said the operator had experienced a significant increase in the theft of critical network equipment across the country.

“These incidents cause substantial financial losses and, more importantly, disrupt network services, affecting customers’ connectivity and overall experience,” he said.

AMTOB urged BTRC, the government and law enforcement agencies to strengthen investigations and take action against those involved.