[ Business ] 2010-07-25

Banglalink appoints new corporate sales head

Nasar Yousuf has been assigned with the responsibilities of being the corporate sales head of Banglalink, an Orascom Telecom subsidiary in Bangladesh.    Prior to his new responsibility, he has been serving as the national corporate sales manager in the same organisation, said a news release.    With more than nine years of experience in the service industry, Yousuf had been one of the profound members of the    pre-launching Banglalink team since early 2005    and had been into an instrumental role in building up the image of Banglalink by providing service and solutions in the corporate market, the release said.

Robi plans infrastructure sharing with Banglalink to cut cost, boost growth

Robi has planned to share infrastructure with fellow mobile phone operator Banglalink as part of its cost-cutting drive, but sees no reason to float shares, company chief executive Michael Kuehnar said.
Kuehnar who has turned around once ailing AKTel into the fastest growing mobile operator this year said his company has launched talks with Banglalink to share network infrastructure nationwide.
"So far, the response from them is positive", the Robi Chief Executive Officer told the FE during an interview last week.
He did not make comment on a possible merger between third-ranked Robi and second-placed Banglalink -- a move experts see as 'highly logical' to take the fight to runaway market leader Grameenphone.
Toegther, the two companies would have 26 million subscribers, accounting for some 45 per cent of the country's total mobile phone users. Grameenphone has 25 million subscribers.
Kuehnar said infrastructure collaboration between Robi and Banglalink is a 'major attempt" for his company to boost profit and ensure synergy for furture growth.
"The move is mainly aimed at cutting cost as our experience shows that such infrastructure sharing results in major slash in our operational expenses", he said.
In February this year, the two mobile operators tied up with Grameenphone in similar infrastructure sharing deals, which the authorities say was aimed at tapping fast growing rural market.
"The nature of the Banglalink deal will be quite similar to the infrastructure sharing tie we earlier inked with GP", he said.
He said Robi would also launch talks with other telecom infrastructure firms who operate in data and voice transfer and internet service providing business.
"In the future, we would like to go into such sharing deal with the Wimax operators and other telecom infrastructure providers", he added.
The company's latest move came just a couple of months after the company changed its brand name into Robi.
The company was known as AKTEL since it was launched a decade back. The name was derived from the country's one of the oldest industrial groups, AK Khan and Co.
But AK Khan sold its minority stake in the company to NTT DoCoMo in 2008. The majority stake holder TM International Ltd also meanwhile changed its name into Axiata.
Kuehnar said his company's new brand name has been "well-accepted" by Bangladeshi consumers, helping it become the fastest growing operator this year.
Since launching of the new name, Robi has added 0.64 million susbcribers -- faster than any of the country's five other mobile phone firms.
"The renaming was a right step from a marketing point of view", Kuehnar said, "as our survey shows that 80 per cent of the subscribers were positive with our new brand name".
Robi now has around 10.82 million subscribers till end of April this year , according to the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.
The company's net profit after taxes stood at 857.3 million taka in 2009 on a 19.92 billion Taka revenue. It earned 5.93 billion Taka as revenue in the first quarter of 2010, Robi officials said.
According to the official figures, it has invested around Tk. 6.64 billion in enhancing networking capacity in 2009 while another Tk 647 million was invested in marketing.
Kuehnar, however, ruled out listing of the company in the country's two bourses. "At this moment we don't have any such plan," he said.
The company has invested Tk 1.31 billion in the first quarter of 2010 in networking capacity and a robust Tk 403 million in marketing alone, officials said.
"With only 33 percent penetration, Bangladesh is still an untapped market for telecom operators", said the Robi CEO.
He said a cut in government tax on new connections would boost telecom growth "tremendously".
"The government tax on SIM cards and other external costs eat up around 50 per cent of our gross revenue. The telecom operators could invest more in penetrating the market if the government reduced the tax," Kuehnar added.

banglalink launches ’sms alert service under the hottogoal banner

under the hottogoal banner, banglalink launches ’sms alert service’. this is an sms based service which will provide banglalink customers with latest updates of matches of their favorite teams during fifa world cup 2010.

banglalink customers need to send his/her chosen country’s code to 4466. for example, to get updates on argentina, he/she will send arg to 4466 and then, he/she will get match schedules, news, instant updates, goal alerts, and match results of argentina. a customer can subscribe to multiple teams but each time he/she will be charged.

• subscription fee is tk.10 (excluding vat) per country.
• no additional charge for receiving alert sms

banglalink launches hottogoal fantasy 5

banglalink launches hottogoal fantasy 5 - a game especially for the passionate fans of football.

it is an ivr based game where any banglalink subscriber can dial to 4567 and register to create a dream-team consisting of 4 football players and 1 goalkeeper from all the 32 countries participating in fifa world cup 2010. based on the real-life performances of those players during world cup, the subscribers will score points on the following criteria:

• per goal - 500 points
• per penalty save - 500 points
• being in any winning team - 2000 points
• getting a yellow card - 150 points minus
• getting a red card - 300 points minus

the top three subscribers based on total score will be rewarded with attractive nokia handsets. the first prize will be a nokia e72 handset; the second prize will be a nokia e71 handset and the third prize will be a nokia e63 handset.
the duration of the contest is 11th june - 11th july 2010.
* call charge will be tk. 2/minute (excluding vat)

SIM tax must go this time

Banglalink CEO Ahmed Abou Doma shares his thoughts on budget, telecom law

SIM tax stands as a major obstacle to the prospective customers as the newcomers will not be richer than the previous ones, says the chief of the second largest mobile operator in Bangladesh.
Chief Executive Officer of Banglalink Ahmed Abou Doma says such tax should go in the upcoming budget, which he thinks will have a significant impact on the growth of the industry and gross domestic product (GDP).
“Let me start by saying, it's now or never. It's time for the SIM tax to go; it's a shame.”
Doma says this tax hardly exists in other countries. Some have different names for it but in a very nominal value. The present tax is Tk 800 or around $11.51 in Bangladesh. The tax is $1.36 in India, $3 in Pakistan, while Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Indonesia do not impose any SIM (subscriber identity module) tax.
The government may think, Doma says, why it should not take such tax. The government should realise that if the SIM tax is waived now, the revenue that it will get later is much higher, he points out.
The Banglalink CEO says if the revenue does not increase after waiving the SIM tax, the government can again impose it later.
“Give us a chance, give our theory a chance and by the way it's not a theory, it's a proven scientific methodology that shows that 10 percent increase in penetration gives you 1.2 percent increase in GDP."
Contribution of the mobile phone companies to the national exchequer is very high and SIM tax is not the highest among the contributing factors.
“Even removing the SIM tax now, the direct hit on the exchequer is minimal compared to the rest of the items, because we pay VATs on every recharge, licence, frequency fees and revenue share to the regulator. So these make a huge contribution and the SIM tax is not the major one.”
Doma says: "We have 55 million subscribers now. Do you think the next million subscribers will be richer than the previous ones? Of course not. These are poor people somewhere in the rural area."
On the proposed amendment to Bangladesh Telecom Act 2010, he says: “The new telecom act is actually unconstitutional as it doesn't give the operators the right to appeal.”
Doma does not think that it is an investment-friendly law. “You are actually threatening the existing investments in the country. That includes even arresting and putting officials of companies in custody and not having the right to appeal.”
The second point Doma made is related to the fines. In the proposed amendment, the maximum amount of fine has been set at Tk 300 crore, which he says is not practical, as some of the operators who will be subject to that law do not have a paid-up capital more than Tk 10 crore. "This means they are not being penalised, they are being put of business and moreover arrested. What kind of investment climate is this?” The maximum fine in Asia is $2.5 million.
He says Bangladesh's telecom market having six mobile operators is over-crowded.
"With my work with Orascom Telecom I have been exposed to 12 different markets. I think this market is the most competitive one. We do not need six operators; three would be more than enough.”
France and Egypt have three operators each, while China has two. "If you look at India, they have actively 7-8 operators. Then you look at the target population. They have 1.2 billion inhabitants, so every operator on an average is targeting 125 million subscribers, while 150 million Bangladeshis are targeted by six operators. So every operator has a potential theoretical target of 25 million only." There are other aspects such as GDP, which is higher in India, says Doma.
Although competition is good for the end-users, many of the operators may not be able to continue to be in the race, the Banglalink boss says.
"That is not going to be a good sign for the telecom investment in this country."
The weak operators are looking for external arms for financial support so they can continue the race. "I don't want to mention names, but there are operators that won't be able to continue," Doma says.
The positive sides are many as well. An enlightened government and the bodies that understand the potential that this country has in terms of telecom and how much this industry be the locomotive to drive the whole economy can make a huge difference, he says.
There are some officials who are showing signs of understanding. "That was not there when I first came here but I find more of them accepting and embracing that approach."
“Those who will be able to continue in this bone breaking race in Bangladesh will benefit in the long run. But for now it's tough time."

Banglalink's Current promotions (pre-paid packages)

1. boundary bonus offer returns
banglalink again launches its striking offer - “boundary bonus”.  under this offer, customers will be able to enjoy 100% bonus on their incremental usage in june over may (any incremental amount). this means that the customers will have to increase usage in the period of june 1 - 30 over the period may 1 -31.
customers will have to register for this promotion by typing “reg” and sending sms to 2020.
offer details

• this offer is applicable for all banglalink customers (including all prepaid, call & control and postpaid) who activated their account before 31 may 2010
• any inactive customer is also eligible to avail this offer by using any amount in june
• customers can check their may usage after 9 june by typing “u” and sending sms to 2020
• a customer can enjoy maximum tk 1000 as bonus/discount
• bonus can be used to make calls to banglalink numbers (excluding fnf) from 9am-5pm and will be valid for 15 days after disbursement
• banglalink postpaid and pco call & control customers will receive the bonus/discount based on their usage from 1 – 15 july to any banglalink number (excluding fnf) from 9 am to 5 pm. for pco call & control customers, bundle usage from 1 – 15 july will not be considered for this promotion.
• eligible prepaid and call & control customers can check the balance and validity of bonus by dialing *124*3#
• this is a limited time promotion

1. 45 paisa offer is back for banglalink customers!

the 45 paisa offer is back for banglalink customers! you can again enjoy 45 paisa per minute call rate from 12am to 5pm to any banglalink number.

offer details

• all banglalink desh, desh rang, ek rate, ek rate darun, rangdhonu, banglalink sme call & control, banglalink postpaid (call & control) and banglalink business call & control customers can enjoy this offer
• to register, customers need to type ‘ok’ and send sms to 4545
• 45 paisa tariff will be valid for 15 days from the day of availing the offer
• all prepaid customers who have registered for the 45 paisa package, will be migrated to banglalink desh and they can enjoy all the tariffs and facilities of banglalink desh package until 45 paisa tariff validity ends
• to avail the special tariff, after registering for the offer, tk.20 must be recharged at a time during the promotion period
• multiple recharge instances will also be considered. in case of multiple recharges, the longer validity will prevail
• at the end of the validity period customers will be automatically migrated back to their original package
• to unsubscribe from this offer customers need to go to the message option, type d and send sms to 4545
• tk1/sms will apply for registration or unsubscription
• this is a limited time offer

for further information details please call 121 or 01911304121

2. daily unlimited sms offer

banglalink brings daily unlimited sms offer only at tk.5! this offer is applicable for all banglalink desh, desh rang, ek rate, ek rate darun, rangdhonu, banglalink sme, banglalink postpaid call & control and banglalink business call & control customers.
offer details

• customers can buy 500 sms daily at only tk.5 (excluding vat)
• bundle sms can be used to any banglalink number and will have 1 day validity. customers will enjoy effective validity of 24 hrs to 48 hours.
• customers can buy multiple bundles during the promotion
• customers can buy the sms bundle by sending a request to *132*1# and the amount will be deducted instantly from their account

Banglalink to go public if budget favours telecom sector

DSE President Shakil Rizvi has said the country's second largest telecom company Banglalink may go public if the upcoming budget favours the telecom sector.
The DSE president said this Sunday after a meeting with the Banglalink's chief executive officer (CEO) Ahmed Abou Doma.
Mr Rizvi, however, said the CEO was not the only person of the company to take the decision. That's why there was scope for more discussion regarding the offloading of the company's shares in the capital market.
"We discussed the present condition of the country's capital market as well as the prospect of Banglalink," he said.
Mr Rizvi said, "The CEO said his company may go public if the government lessens the Sims-tax and the corporate tax of the telecom companies in the upcoming budget."
When asked, the Banglalink CEO was, however, unwilling to say anything about the time for the company to go public.
Banglalink is the second largest cellular service provider in Bangladesh after Grameenphone. As of November 2009, Banglalink had a subscriber base of 12.99 million. In April 2010, the number of Banglalink subscribers stood at 14.94 million. It is a subsidiary wholly-owned by Orascom Telecom.
Banglalink had 1.03 million connections until December 2005. The number of Banglalink users increased by 257 per cent and stood at 3.64 million at the end of 2006, making it the fastest growing operator in the world for that year. In August 2006, Banglalink became the first company to provide free incoming calls from BTTB for both post-paid and pre-paid connections. On August 20, 2008, Banglalink got past the landmark of 10 million subscriber base.

Banglalink, DBBL to launch mobile banking

[ Companies & Finance ] 2010-05-30

Banglalink, DBBL to launch mobile banking

Banglalink and Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited (DBBL) will collaborate with each other to launch mobile financial services and take them closer to the doorsteps of the customers. An MOU has been signed between the companies in this respect at the Banglalink head office in the city recently, said a press release. Banglalink's Managing Director and CEO Ahmed Abou Doma and DBBL's Managing Director Md Yeasin Ali signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. DBBL Executive Committee Chairman Sayem Ahmed, Deputy Managing Director Abul Kashem Md Shirin and Banglalink Chief Commercial Officer Asher Yakub Khan, Marketing Director Shihab Ahmed, Head of Mobile Financial Services Solaiman Alam and Accounting Controller Shamsuddin Ahmed and other high officials from both the companies were also present at the signing ceremony. Ahmed Abou Doma said, "Banglalink is proud to be associated with DBBL. At Banglalink, all our efforts revolve around our customers- to make their lives easier and thus become much closer to them. This partnership will also help the large population of the country get banking service easily." Yeasin Ali said, "DBBL has always focused on creating meaningful banking solutions for the mass people utilising state-of-the-art technology. Our relationship with Banglalink will help us taking these solutions to the millions living in every corner of the country and thus assist Bangladesh to move forward."

Banglalink Launches Mini Distribution in Noakhali

[ Aaê gwxYRø ] 2010-05-29

ÌdwtwLwlyËZ gwvlwxlvK xixd xWxýUÛxgDmd D˧wcd

ÌiwgwBl Ìogw eÞbwdKwky eÞxZÅwd gwvlwxlvK MÞwpK I xWlwËbk AwËkw AxcK Ìogw eÞbwËdk Rdø gÙpþexZgwk ÌdwtwLwly ÌRlw mpËkk ixfR eþíwRwt xixd xWxýUÛxgDmd ÌUKËdw GëUwkeÞwBËRk Âh D˧wcd KËk„ D˧wcd KËkd xWxýUÛxgDmËdk ÈZòwxcKwky I iøwËel MÞiíËek iøwËdxRv xWËkƒk mIKZ AwxRi„ G oit DexþÿZ xQËld gwvlwxlvËKk AwéxlK xg¢ßt gøgþÿweK Ñotb Bkfwd Awxof×l Bolwi, AwxmK×l pK, PøwËdl iøwËdRwk (GoGiB) IpwgÖk kpiwd, PøwËdl iøwËdRwk ÌMwlwi kpiwd iwiÖd, iøwËdRwk ÌUKËdw GëUwkeÞwBR GGoGi AwKil Âh„ xgšx®

Banglalink, Dutch-Bangla Bank sign mobile banking deal

[ Business ] 2010-05-24

Banglalink, Dutch-Bangla Bank sign mobile banking deal

Mobile phone operator Banglalink has signed a memorandum of understanding with Dutch-Bangla Bank at Banglalink head office in Dhaka recently.    With the signing, both the parties have agreed to collaborate with each other to launch mobile financial services, said a news release.    Banglalink managing director and chief executive officer Ahmed Abou Doma and DBBL managing director Md Yeasin Ali signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

Number of mobile users of Bangladesh to reach 73m by 2014

IE Market Research Corp. (IEMR), the Canadian-based provider of market intelligence services, said given the latest quarter data, the total wireless subscribers in Bangladesh would increase from the current 53.83 million to 72.7 million by 2014.
It however said wireless subscriber growth in Bangladesh has slowed down, growing only 4.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2009.

The market research corporation said GrameenPhone would maintain its lead in Bangladesh's wireless market over the next five years with an expected subscriber base of 32 million by 2014.
The other players will also be gaining more subscribers over the next five years. It predicts that Banglalink will have 15.5 million, TM International will have 13.1 million, and Warid will have 6.7 million mobile subscribers respectively by the end of 2014.
Grameenphone, jointly owned by Telenor and Bangladesh's Grameen Telecom, currently leads the country's 53.83 million mobile market with 23.48 million active users.
Banglalink stands second with 14.07 million users, which is followed by Axiata 10.31 million, Warid 3.01 million, Citycell 1.94 million and state-run Teletalk 1.02 million users, according to the latest posting of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the telecom regulator.
IEMR said Warid's subscriber market share will be increasing over the next five years after BTRC approved India's top telecoms company Bharti Airtel $300 million initial investment offer.

Banglalink, DESCO sign bill payment service deal

[ Business Local ] 2010-05-17

Banglalink, DESCO sign bill payment service deal

Banglalink and Dhaka Electric Supply Co. Ltd. (DESCO) have signed an agreement to enable "Mobile Based electricity bill payment" service in DESCO operations area in Dhaka recently, says a press release. The signing ceremony took place at the Banglalink office at Gulshan. Khandaker Najibul Alam, manager (Procurement and Contract Management), DESCO and Ahmed Abou Doma, MD and chief executive officer, Banglalink signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. Also present in the meeting were Engr. Md. Monzur Rahman, director (Technical) and Qudrate Khuda, director (Finance) of DESCO, Asher Yaqub Khan, chief commercial officer, Arif Mehmood Malik, sales director and Solaiman Alam, head of PR, communication, M Commerce and High Value Segments of banglalink. According to this agreement, Banglalink will collect electricity bills from DESCO consumers. Banglalink strives in making a difference through its innovative products and services.

banglalink has once again hit the market with another exciting offer rangdhonu!

banglalink desh rangdhanu

banglalink has once again hit the market with another exciting offer rangdhonu! with this package, banglalink customers will be able to talk for half an hour by paying for only 5 minutes! some key features/benefits of banglalink desh rangdhanu 1. bonus on incomingnow customers can enjoy 20% bonus by having minimum 50 incoming minutes from other operator’s mobile in a month. the bonus will be given in the form of sms and minutes equally. the 20% bonus will be awarded based on previous month’s incoming calls from other mobile operators .bonus minutes can be used to call any banglalink number (excluding fnf) and bonus sms can be used for any banglalink number. all prepaid customers (banglalink desh, desh rang, ladies, first!) and banglalink postpaid, banglalink business and banglalink sme customers can enjoy these bonus minutes. customers who are interested to avail the facility need to write "bo" and send an sms to 2007 (sms charge tk. 2 excluding vat will apply). within 72 hours of sending sms customers will receive a reply sms confirming successful registration. a customer needs to send the registration sms once to enjoy the bonus on incoming till the offer lasts. the bonus for the usage of one month will be given in the following month. 2. lifetime validitylifetime validity on prepaid account gives a customer the benefit of receiving incoming calls and staying connected forever. to get lifetime validity, a customer has to recharge his/her pre-paid account with a minimum amount of tk. 10/= or above (via scratch card or i- top up). if any lifetime validity customer does not have any incoming or outgoing call/sms for three months, the connection will be permanently disconnected. 3. eisd facility you can call to 55 countries from your connection at economy rate! to call at economy rate please dial "012 + country code + area code + desired number". product details under rangdhonu package, whenever a call will be connected to any banglalink number during 12.00am-5.00pm, tk.1.50/minute will be charged per minute during the 1st five minutes. from 6th to 30th minute, the call will be free of charge. similarly, from 31st to 35th minute, the tariff will be tk. 1.50/minute and from 36th to 60th minute, the call will be free of charge. all the above charges are exclusive of vat 60 second pulse will be applicable for this tariff special tariff of rangdhonu package will be applicable for calling to any banglalink numbers (including fnf) from 12am to 4pm migrating to rangdhonu pre-paid customers can migrate to this package to register for this package, type "reg" and send sms to 4687 to unsubscribe from this package, type "d" and send sms to 4687

banglalink reaches the 1.5 crore mark, further consolidates position in the industry

banglalink, the country’s 2nd largest mobile operator achieved the 1.5 crore mark, thereby consolidating its position and further widening the gap with the next contender. this milestone has been reached after only five years of operations, which represents an incredible achievement, and provides testimony to the company’s rapid expansion that has made banglalink the fastest growing mobile operator in the country. as a result the company grossed the highest net adds in 2009, more than any other operator in the country.

commenting on this milestone achievement, the ceo of banglalink mr. ahmed abou doma said "the fact that over one and a half crore customers have shown confidence in banglalink is a testament to the brand itself, which continues to be one of the most loved and visible brands in the country. in the years to come, we are confident that this growth will continue with this customer confidence in us". in a press conference held today, the ceo also announced a special celebratory offer for banglalink customers - giving them 15% free airtime and 15 sms on usage, between 15th to 17th may, 2010. on the same occasion, mr. abou doma also announced the launch of banglalink unlimited postpaid package. in this first of its kind package in the entire saarc region, customers can make calls to all networks without bothering about per minute rates.
as the fastest growing telecom operator in the country, banglalink has always been the market leader in driving value, firstly by making mobile telephony affordable and available to the masses, and thereafter continuing to build on the value proposition through its innovative products and services that continue to make a difference in the lives and livelihoods of the people of bangladesh.
from the beginning the company focused on affordability, availability and connectivity. banglalink’s contribution to the overall telecom penetration in the country was fuelled by heavy year on year subscriber acquisition backed up by solid foundations in terms of infrastructure, customer service and products. the first million subscribers were reached in only 9 months of operations followed by the 1 crore mark, which was achieved after about only three and a half years of operations.
the impressive growth of banglalink is based on the overwhelming response to banglalink’s innovative products and services, and is fuelled by heavy infrastructure investment. the company has so far invested more than 8484 crore million in its network infrastructure and is continuing to invest further to ensure the highest quality service to customers.
in terms of service quality, banglalink has continued to invest heavily in its customer care services. banglalink has the largest network of over 1100 customer service points spread all over the country along with a passionate and vigilant team to provide quality and prompt service.
banglalink is a subsidiary of orascom telecom holdings having operations in 11 emerging markets of africa, north america, europe, asia and the middle east. with 93% population coverage and over 15 million subscribers, banglalink is the 2nd largest cellular service provider in bangladesh.

মোবাইল স্কিনে WARID/Grameen Phone/Tele Talk / Aktel এর টাওয়ার লোকেশন!!!

আপনি যদি আপনার মোবাইল থেকে WARID/Grameen Phone/Tele Talk / Aktel এর নিকটবর্তী টাওয়ারের লোকেশনের নাম
আপনার মোবাইল স্কিনে দেখতে চান তবে নিচের সেটাপটি আপনার মোবাইলে দিয়ে ফেলুন।

For Nokia Users->
1.Menu>Settings>Phone Settings>Cell info Display>On

NOW Return Your Phone Display and see your WARID/ GP/Tele Talk tower location.

For All Users->
1.Messages>Cell Broadcast/Cell Info/Network Messages/CB>Enable/On/Active>Activate a topic/Activate channel/Add Topic>Topic or Channel ID is: 050 or write only 50.

NOW Return Your Phone Display and see your WARID/ GP/Tele Talk tower location.

Robi lit up ten remote villages with solar power

Leading telecommunications solution provider Robi on Saturday lit up ten remote villages across the country with solar power. Undertaken as part of the CSR initiative of the company, the programme coincided with the heralding of the Bengali New Year.
The villages are Tamaruddi of Nowakhali, Bachamara of Manikganj, Pachuria of Gopalganj, Protapnagar of Shatkhira, Charjanajat of Madaripur, Motherbunia of Patuakhali, Chaitar Khamar of Kurigram, Char Neuton of Bhola, Padma of Barguna and Pirganj of Jadabpur. These villages will be known as Robi Palli.
This initiative was kicked off by Chief Marketing Officer of Robi, Bidyut Kumar Basu when he lightened up a house in a remote village of Amtoli.
To facilitate development of Bangladesh's rural people, Robi is initiating a project to reach 500 nomes in 50 hard-to-reach villages all over the country. Each of these 500 rurai households will be provided with 20WP solar panels by May this year.
Chief Marketing Officer of Robi, Bidyut Kumar Basu said, we respect our local tradition, yet march ahead with innovation and creativity. According to the Ministry of Power 53% of Bangladesh is still in need of power supply, it is also a country that is blessed with abundant solar energy, which can provide a clean solution to this shortage.
Sania Mahmood, Head of Marketing, Mohiuddin Babar, Head of Communication and Media Relation along with other officials of Robi were also present at the event.

JS panel asks for details on Warid, Airtel deal

Says govt incurred losses as Warid allowed to sell stake for low price
The parliamentary standing committee on the planning ministry on Sunday asked the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to submit a report on how 70 per cent of the shares of mobile operator Warid had been sold to India’s Bharti Airtel only for Tk 70 lakh.
The committee chairman, Oli Ahmed, after a meeting, told reporters they had discussed media reports that Warid had been allowed to sell its 70 per cent stake to Airtel only for Tk 70 lakh.
‘The country and the government sustained a loss as Warid was allowed to hand over its share for such a low price,’ he said.
The government lost millions of dollars in transfer fees as the commission allegedly allowed Warid, which invested more than $600 million in the country, to hand over 70 per cent of its stake to Airtel for only Tk 70 lakh in recent times.
The standing committee also suggested that the posts and telecommunications ministry should bring Voice over Internet Protocol under the jurisdiction of law.
It will help to increase revenue earnings of the government as well as provide internet users with better services, the committee observed.
The meeting also recommended making capable the state-run mobile operator Teletalk so that it can survive in the competition with the private mobile operators.
Committee members planning minister AK Khandoker, Nawab Ali Abbas Khan and Azizul Haque Chowdhury attended the meeting.
The meeting discussed in details different projects undertaken by the ministries of land, posts and telecommunications and social welfare.
As for land ministry, it decided that the ministry would inform the committee in three months of the steps it has taken to reclaim illegally occupied government land, how much land has so far been reclaimed and whether any new incident of land occupation has taken places in recent times.
As for social welfare ministry, the meeting decided that proper monitoring should be ensured so that the registered non-governmental organisations properly follow the conditions of registration.

Robi Pre-Paid Connection is Now Tk 98

Robi  Pre-Paid Connection is Now Tk  98 with added value of Tk 73

GP Internet ... 15mb mini pack @ tk 29+15% vat. with 15days validity

India plans 'launch sale of 4G mobile services'

India plans to hold an auction of ultra-high-speed fourth-generation (4G) mobile phone spectrum soon after completion of 3G access now underway, a report said Wednesday.The sale for 4G, which will provide high-speed Internet connections, will begin as soon as operators roll out their 3G networks this year, Communications Minister A. Raja was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times newspaper.
The government expects to bring in at least 350 billion rupees (eight billion dollars) from the sell-off of 3G airwaves and a follow-on auction of broadband wireless access spectrum that began last Friday and could take weeks.
Operators believe 4G will bring near-broadband speed technology to mobile phones, allowing users to receive multimedia such as TV broadcasts and online games at rates up to 10 times faster than those possible on 3G networks.
"I do not want any delay in 4G services. We should be with the rest of the world in 4G," Raja said.
Germany on Monday began Europe's first auction of 4G frequencies.
Raja said he expected the successful telecom bidders for 3G frequency would start launching their new networks within a few weeks of receiving the spectrum when it is allocated in September.
The auction of 3G spectrum will propel India into the Internet era, giving millions who have no computer access the ability to surf the web from their phones.
It will also heat up the battle for customers in the world's fastest-growing mobile market.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has already started the pre-consultation process for the sale of 4G spectrum, Raja said.
"Once TRAI submits its recommendations, the government will work on it," he said.