The problem: Over roughly 20 months, thieves have stripped about 16 kilometres of power cable, more than 2,000 batteries, over 500 remote radio units, and hundreds of BTS cards from telecom towers across Bangladesh, according to The Business Standard. Grameenphone alone reported 75 BTS card thefts between January and August 2026, up from just 6 the year before. Incidents cluster around Dhaka — Badda, Mohammadpur, Lalbagh — and spread to Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Savar, and Gazipur.
Why it happens: Telecom equipment sits in exposed, often unguarded locations, and components like batteries and copper cable have resale value on the scrap and grey markets. As thefts have grown more organized, thieves have even stolen the CCTV cameras operators installed to catch them.
The impact: Beyond the direct cost of replacing specialized equipment, thefts cause network outages that cut off internet access, disrupt digital services, and — most seriously — knock out emergency call capability in affected areas. Operators face delays sourcing replacement parts, extending outage windows.
Counterargument: Some industry observers note that theft alone doesn’t explain all service disruptions — aging infrastructure, power instability, and insufficient maintenance budgets also contribute, meaning theft is one factor among several rather than the sole cause of network unreliability.
Policy implication: Physical infrastructure security is increasingly a digital-economy issue, not just a policing one. As Bangladesh pushes further into digital services, disruptions to telecom infrastructure carry proportionally larger economic and safety costs.
Recommendation: The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators has already sought urgent intervention from the telecom regulator and law enforcement; a coordinated response — faster police case processing, harsher penalties for scrap dealers knowingly buying stolen telecom equipment, and shared intelligence between operators — would likely be more effective than each operator securing sites independently.
Confidence level: High. The theft figures come directly from operator reporting and industry association complaints, though the scale of financial loss is described qualitatively rather than with a precise total.
Related reading: 16km cables, 2,000 batteries stolen from telecom towers, disrupting services — The Business Standard
