Ookla, OpenSignal reports on Bangladesh termed dubious

Mobilephone consumers' association press conference on Sunday. UNB

Dhaka, Jul 31 – The Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers' Association (BMPCA) has questioned the methodology and validity of OoKLA "Speedtest," and OpenSignal "Mobile Network Experience" reports on Bangladesh's telecom sector.

Sunday, at a press conference in Dhaka's Segunbagicha,  BMPCA President Mohiuddin Ahmed said according to an Ookla analysis from the previous year, Bangladesh ranked 137th out of 139 nations in terms of mobile internet speed.

"On June 25, the telecom regulator placed an indefinite suspension on the SIM card sale of Grameenphone for the operator's failure to provide quality service. But Grameenphone and Banglalink were named the top mobile operators of the country in a report released two days ago by OpenSignal," he added.

Tanvir Hassan Zoha, an advisor of BMPCA, said none of the reports are accurate.

He added: "They claimed that they had obtained consumer information from YouTube or Facebook, which is unacceptable given that the platforms never disclose user data to third parties. So, if they gained access to the customer's devices and took samples, they broke the law and violated data privacy."

"Also, it is important to look into whether these organisations are using malware on BTS towers to acquire data from people in other countries." - UNB