The liberalization of Bangladesh's telecommunications sector began with small steps in 1989 with the issuance of a license to a private operator for the provision of inter alia cellular mobile services to compete with Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB), the previous monopoly provider of telecommunications services within Bangladesh. Significant changes in the number of fixed and mobile services deployed in Bangladesh occurred in the late 1990s and the number of services in operation has subsequently grown exponentially in the past five years.
The incentives both from the government and public sectors have helped the industry grow and it is now one of the biggest industries in Bangladesh. As a populous country, its huge market has attracted many foreign investors.
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)
2018: on 19 February 4G mobile service is introduced[5]
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 held for all Telecom companies
2023 : On 01 November, Teletalk & Banglalink jointly introduced first National Roaming Network with 20,600 Tower in Bangladesh
Structureedit
As defined in the National Telecommunications Policy 1998 and International Long-Distance Telecommunications Services (ILDTS) Policy 2007, all mobile operators are to interconnect through Interconnection Exchange (ICX) and all international calls to be handled by International Gateway (IGW) which is to be connected to the mobile and fixed operators through 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.[6]
Below illustrate the structure of interconnection between different interfaces.
Service providersedit
Public switched telephone networkedit
The number of public switched telephone network (PSTN) subscribers in Bangladesh as of February 2009 was 1.372 million.[7] PSTN operators in Bangladesh include:
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,[8] having risen from the February 2009 figure of 45.21 million.[9] 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)edit
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:
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) operatorsedit
On 18 August 2009, the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission commenced awarding licenses for IPTSP. IPTSP operators are regulated by the BTRC.[11] Current IPTSP operators in Bangladesh are:
Nationwide:
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.
Royal Green Online 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) operatoredit
1Asia Alliance Communication
BD Link Communication Ltd
Fiber @ Home
Mango Teleservices
NovoCom
Summit Communications
Radioedit
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:
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 first connectivity in Bangladesh with the internet was in 1996. In the past few years, growth has been rapid. The government's high internet tariff is impeding the growth of this sector, claims Norwegian-owned Telenor. [citation needed] Recently the government has decided to reduce the tariff by 50%.[12]
The number of internet users in Bangladesh as of March 2009 is over 600,000, compared to 100,000 in 2000.[14] However, only 0.3% of the population use the internet, thus making Bangladesh the lowest usage percentage per population of the internet in the world with the exception of North Korea, Myanmar and Sierra Leone.[15]
In April 2010 Akhtaruzzaman Manju, president of the Internet Service Providers' Association of Bangladesh, told Xinhua that the country's six cell 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.[16]
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 the year 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.[17]
Broadband Internet accessedit
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.[18]
The ISPs currently providing broadband services in Bangladesh are:
There are 6 satellite Earth stations. Talimabad, Betbunia are two of them. Some info shows that the number is now 7. Bangladesh has sent its first ever satellite Bangabandhu-1 into space on May 11, 2018.
Submarine cablesedit
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.[19]