Telecommunications in Bangladesh

The telecom sector in Bangladesh is rapidly emerging. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is the regulatory authority for this sector, overseeing licensing, policy, etc. The calling code of Bangladesh is +880. There are also several SubCodes. History Landmarks in the history of the telecom industry in Bangladesh: 1971: Reconstructed as Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Department under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. 1975: Reconstructed as Telegraph and Telephone Board. 1979: Reconstructed as Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) with the right to issue licenses for telecom and wireless services. 1981: Digital Telex Exchange in Bangladesh. 1983: Automatic Digital ITX started in Dhaka. 1985: Coinbox Telephone service was introduced in Bangladesh by BTTB. 1989: GENTEX Telegraph messaging service introduced in Bangladesh. 1989: Bangladesh Rural Telecom Authority got a license to operate exchanges in 200 Upazilas. 1989: Sheba Telecom got license to operate exchanges in 199 Upazilas. 1989: Cellular mobile phone company Pacific Bangladesh Telephone Limited and Bangladesh Telecom got license. 1995: Card Telephone service introduced in Bangladesh by BTTB and TSS. 1995: Regulatory power of BTTB transferred to Ministry (MoPTIT). 1995: 2nd and 3rd ITX installed in Dhaka. 1996: GrameenPhone got cellular mobile Telephone license. 1996: Telecom Malaysia International Bangladesh got cellular mobile license. 1998: Telecom Policy. 2000: Global Telecom Service (GTS) Telex Exchange venture with British Teleco. 2001: Telecommunication Act, to establish Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). 2002: ICT Policy. 2004: Teletalk (BTTB bMobile) cellular mobile launched. 2005: Egypt-based Orascom acquired Sheba Telecom 2006: NGN introduced in BTTB. 2008: BTTB converted into Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) with 100% shares owned by Government. The Submarine Cable Project transformed into Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) 2008: Japanese NTT DoCoMo bought 30 percent stake in Aktel 2009: Bharti Airtel acquired 70 percent stake in Warid Telecom 2009: Internet Protocol Telephony Service Provider (IPTSP) Operators launched. 2010: Aktel rebranded to Robi Axiata Limited 2012: 3G mobile service is introduced by state owned Teletalk in October. 2013: 3G auction held for private companies 2014: 64 districts covered with 3G by Teletalk, Grameenphone, Banglalink and Robi 2016: Robi and Airtel were merged on 16 November 2016 and Robi set sail as the merged company. 2018: 4G auction held for private companies 2018: On 19 February 4G mobile service is introduced. 2021: On 12 December 5G mobile service is introduced by TeleTalk. 2022: On 17 March Unlimited Validity Data service is introduced by TeleTalk. 2022: On 31 March 5G auction is held for all Telecom companies. 2023: On 1 November, Teletalk and Banglalink jointly introduced the first National Roaming Network with approximately 20,600 towers in Bangladesh. Structure As defined in the National Telecommunications Policy (1998) and the International Long-Distance Telecommunications Services (ILDTS) Policy (2007), all mobile operators must interconnect through Interconnection Exchanges (ICXs), while all international calls are to be routed through International Gateways (IGWs), which connect to both mobile and fixed operators via the ICXs. The Interconnection Exchange (ICX) will receive all calls from the mobile and fixed operators whenever the call is made to another network and will pass it to the destination network if the call is local, and will pass to the IGWs if the call is international. ICX will also deliver calls received from IGWs where the call is destined. Below illustrate the structure of interconnection between different interfaces. Service providers Public switched telephone network The number of public switched telephone network (PSTN) subscribers in Bangladesh as of February 2009 was 1.372 million. PSTN operators in Bangladesh include: Banglaphone Ltd. BTCL Integrated Services Limited (ISL) – branded under the name Sheba Phone Jalalabad Telecom Ltd. – branded under the name Bijoy Phone Onetel Communication Ltd. Ranks Telecom Ltd. S.A Telecom System Ltd. Westec Ltd. WorldTel Lenova.com.bd Dhaka Telephone Co. Ltd. – Currently off the air, License canceled by BTRC National Telecom Ltd. – Currently off the air, License canceled by BTRC Peoples Telecommunication and Information Services Ltd. – Currently off the air, License canceled by BTRC Tele Barta Ltd. – branded under the name Jubok phone – Currently off air Mobile phone operators There are four mobile phone operators in Bangladesh, operating under the names of Banglalink, Grameenphone, Robi and TeleTalk. The number of mobile phone subscribers in Bangladesh as of April 2015 was 124.705 million, having risen from the February 2009 figure of 45.21 million. As of September, 2022 the number of mobile phone subscriber has risen to 181.43 Million. [1] Long distance operators (as per ILDTS Policy 2007) On 25 February 2008 the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission awarded licenses for two Interconnection Exchanges (ICX), three International Gateways (IGm), and one International Internet Gateway (IIG) to six firms through an open auction in February 2008. The incumbent BTTB got the same licenses too. And after then on 12 April 2012, the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission awarded licenses for twenty-one Interconnection Exchanges (ICX), twenty two International Gateways (IGw), and thirty International Internet Gateway (IIG). Here is the list of all operators: International Gateway (IGW) operators Roots Communication Mir Telecom LTD 1Asia Alliance Gateway Bangladesh International Gateway Bangla Tel Ltd Bangla Trac Communications BG Tel BTCL Cel Telecom DBL Telecom DigiCon Telecommunications First Communications Global Voice Telecom HRC Technologies LR Telecom Ltd. Kay Telecommunications Mos5 Tel NovoTel Limited Platinum Communications Ltd RanksTel Ratul Telecom SM Communication SongBird Telecom (formerly Hamid Sourcing) Telex Vision Tel Venus Telecom LTD Interconnection Exchange (ICX) operators M & H Telecom LTD MM Communications LTD Jibondhara Solutions Ltd. Summit ICX BTCL Bangla ICX Ltd. Agni ICX CloudTel GAZI Networks Ltd GETCO ICX Imam Network Ltd. Jibondhara ICX Ring Tech Communications Limited MicroTrade ICX Mother Telecommunication New Generation Telecom Ltd Paradise ICX Purple Telecom Limited Crossworld Telecom Ltd. SR Telecom Sheba Softex Communications Ltd. Tele Exchange Ltd. Teleplus Network Ltd Voicetel Ltd. Bantel Limited. Sengupta Telecom International Internet Gateway (IIG) operator Aamra Companies 1Asia Alliance Communication Abir Telecommunication Apple Communication Bangla Phone Ltd bdHUB BD Link Communication Ltd BSCCL BTCL Cybergate Delta Infocom Earth Telecommunication Equitel Communications Fiber @ Home Global Fair Communications Greenland Technologies Intraglobe Communications Level3 Carrier ADN International Gateway Limited. Formerly Managewell Communication Ltd Mango Teleservices MaxNet Online NovoCom PeerEx Networks Limited REGO Communications CiTYCOM NETWORK Summit Communications Limited Internet Protocol Telephony Service Provider (IPTSP) operators On 18 August 2009, the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission commenced awarding licenses for IPTSP. IPTSP operators are regulated by the BTRC. Current IPTSP operators in Bangladesh are: Nationwide: Royal Green Online Ltd. Systems Solutions & Development Technologies Limited[SSD-TECH]. (prefix-09642) MetroNet Bangladesh Ltd. (prefix-09612) Icon Infotech Ltd. (prefix-09644) Amber IT Ltd. (prefix-09611) Telnet Communication Ltd. Link3 Technologies Ltd. (prefix-09678) BDCOM Online Ltd. (prefix-09666) Access Telecom (BD) Ltd. (prefix-09622) ADN Telecom Ltd. (formerly Advanced Data Network Systems Ltd) (prefix-09610) Agni Systems Ltd. (prefix-09606) Rightsoft Systems Akceycom Ltd. Akij Online Ltd. Bangladesh Export Import Company Ltd. Bangladesh Internet Exchange Ltd. BEXIMCO AND SQUARE (prefix-09609) BRACNet Ltd. (prefix-09677) Broad Band Telecom Services Ltd. BTS Communications (BD) Ltd., branded as UbernetBD Carnival Internet Communication One (Pvt.) Ltd. Connect BD Ltd. Cyber Net Communications dhakaCom Ltd. (prefix-09611) Digital Connectivity Ltd. ERGO Ventures Ltd. Global Access Ltd. HRC Technologies Ltd. Idea Networks And Communications Ltd. IDS Bangladesh Information Services Network Ltd. Innovative Online Ltd. InterCloud Ltd. IS PROS Ltd. MaxNet Online Manor IT Ltd. Link3 Technologies Ltd. (prefix-09678) Nreach Net (Pvt.) Ltd. Pritty International (Pvt) Ltd. Ranks ITT Ltd. X-Net Ltd. TeleBangla Communications Ltd. RED Data (Pvt) Ltd. Triangle Services LTD Premium Connectivity Limited Central: Fusion Net Grameen Cybernet Ltd. IT Connect Ltd. J F Optical Services M/s. Media & Multimedia Next Online Ltd. (Nextfone) SADIATEC Ltd. Sine-10 (BD) Ltd. Zonal/Divisional: Chittagong Online Ltd. Chittagong Telecom Services Ltd. First n Fast IT Ltd. HN TELECOM SpeedLinks International Terrestrial Cable (ITC) operator 1Asia Alliance Communication BD Link Communication Ltd Fiber @ Home Mango Teleservices NovoCom Summit Communications Radio Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2, community radio 1, Internet radios Radios: 6.15 million (1997) The government-owned Betar-Radio Bangladesh operates from Dhaka and other local districts. Currently, private FM radio channels are very popular. They are trying to attract young people by broadcasting music and news. The operating private radio channels include: dhakaFM 90.4 FM Radio Amber 102.4 FM Radio Today 89.6 FM Radio Foorti 88.0 FM Radio Amar 88.4 FM ABC Radio 89.2 FM Peoples Radio 91.6 FM Television As of 2012, there are 23 broadcast television stations in Bangladesh, including the state-run BTV and BTV World, with 20 million television sets in the country. The number of private satellite channels are growing. The first private channel in Bangladesh was ATN Bangla. There are 8 full-fledged news channels (ATN News, Channel 24, DBC News, Ekattor, Independent Television, Jamuna Television, News24 and Somoy TV). Internet Bangladesh first received Internet access in 1996. In the recent years, Internet usage has rapidly increased. The Bangladesh government imposes a high Internet tariff, stunting the sector's growth, claims Norwegian-owned Telenor. Due to controversy, the Bangladesh government decided to reduce the tariff by 50%. The Bangladesh's Internet country code is .bd. As of 2005, more than 180 Internet Service Providers are operating in the country. Internet service providers (ISPs) are regulated by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). In April 2010, Akhtaruzzaman Manju, president of the Internet Service Providers' Association of Bangladesh, told Xinhua that the country's six mobile phone operators and Internet Service Providers have so far provided over 800,000 Internet connections. "We've estimated that nearly 10 million people in the country are using 800,000 internet connections on a shared basis," he said, adding the number of Internet users in the country is increasing yearly by around 15-16 percent. A 2009 study by the Boston Consulting Group found that the number of Internet subscribers in Bangladesh is likely to reach 18.3 million by 2020, equivalent to a 32 percent household Internet penetration, which will result in a 2.6 percent contribution to the country's GDP while creating 129,000 more jobs, the research added. Broadband Internet access Though broadband Internet access is available, the cost of high-speed connection is higher than in other south Asian countries. Broadband Internet and e-commerce in Bangladesh is progressing slowly. WiMAX service is now available from some Internet service providers. In Bangladesh broadband is legally defined as 128/128 kbit/s, which is not in line with ITU standards. Satellite There are six satellite Earth stations, including Talimabad, and Betbunia. Bangladesh sent its first satellite, Bangabandhu-1, into space on May 11, 2018. Starlink launched in the country with satellite internet connctivity option in 2025. Submarine cables Bangladesh is connected to SEA-ME-WE 4 or SMW-4 (South-East Asia – Middle East – Western Europe 4) and SEA-ME-WE 5 submarine cable systems. The landing site of the SMW-4 Bangladesh branch is located in Cox's Bazar and the landing site of the SMW-5 Bangladesh branch is located in Kuakata. The two submarine cables provide the country with redundancy to support uninterrupted Internet and long-distance communications and also with a huge bandwidth. Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited is the only submarine cable operator in Bangladesh. See also Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation Doel (laptop) Media of Bangladesh References External links Media and Telecommunications Landscape Guide in Bangladesh, a 'infoasaid' guide, May 2012, 135 pp.