Telecommunications in Bangladesh


The liberalisation of Bangladesh's telecommunications sector began with small steps in 1989 with the issuance of a licence to a private operator for the provision of inter alia cellular mobile services to compete with Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board, 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 have subsequently grown exponentially in the past five years.
The incentives both from 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.

Telecommunication

The telecom sector in Bangladesh is rapidly emerging. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission 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 telecom industry in Bangladesh
As defined in the National Telecommunications Policy 1998 and International Long Distance Telecommunications Services Policy 2007, all mobile operators is to interconnect through Interconnection Exchange and all international calls to be handled by International Gateway which is to be connected to the mobile and fixed operators through the ICXs.
The Interconnection Exchange will receive all calls from the mobile and fixed operators whenever the call is made to other 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 subscribers in Bangladesh as of February 2009 was 1.372 million. 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, having risen from the February 2009 figure of 45.21 million.

Long distance operators (as per ILDTS Policy 2007)

On 25 February 2008 the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission awarded licenses for two Interconnection Exchanges, three International Gateways, and one International Internet Gateway 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, twenty two International Gateways, and thirty International Internet Gateway Here is the list of all operators:
International Gateway (IGW) operators
  1. Tech Panacea
  2. Mir Telecom LTD
  3. 1Asia Alliance Gateway
  4. Bangladesh International Gateway
  5. Bangla Tel Ltd
  6. Bangla Trac Communications
  7. Bestec Telecom
  8. BG Tel
  9. BTCL
  10. Cel Telecom
  11. DBL Telecom
  12. DigiCon Telecommunications
  13. First Communications
  14. Global Voice Telecom
  15. HRC Technologies
  16. Hub Tel
  17. LR Telecom Ltd.
  18. Lenova.xyz
  19. Kay Telecommunications
  20. Mos5 Tel
  21. Platinum Communications Ltd
  22. RanksTel
  23. Ratul Telecom
  24. Roots Communication
  25. Sigma Engineers
  26. SM Communication
  27. SongBird Telecom
  28. SVM Telecom LP
  29. Telex
  30. Unitrac Communications
  31. Vision Tel
  32. Venus Telecom LTD
  33. Carrier Voice UK LTD
    Interconnection Exchange (ICX) operators
  35. Jibondhara Solutions Ltd.
  36. Summit ICX
  37. BTCL
  38. Bangla ICX Ltd.
  39. Agni ICX
  40. Apex Communication Pvt Ltd
  41. CloudTel
  42. GAZI Networks Ltd
  43. GETCO ICX
  44. Imam Network Ltd.
  45. Jibondhara ICX
  46. Ring Tech Communications Limited
  47. MicroTrade ICX
  48. Mother Telecom
  49. New Generation Telecom Ltd
  50. Paradise ICX
  51. Purple Telecom Limited
  52. Crossworld Telecom Ltd.
  53. SR Telecom
  54. Sheba
  55. Softex
  56. Tele Exchange Ltd.
  57. Teleplus Network Ltd
  58. Verterx Telecom
  59. Voicetel Ltd.
  60. Bantel Limited.
  61. Sengupta Telecom
    International Internet Gateway (IIG) operator
  62. Aamra Companies
  63. 1Asia Alliance Communication
  64. Abir Telecommunication
  65. Apple Communication
  66. Bangla Phone Ltd
  67. bdHUB
  68. BD Link Communication Ltd
  69. BSCCL
  70. BTCL
  71. Cybergate
  72. Delta Infocom
  73. Earth Telecommunication
  74. Equitel Communications
  75. Fiber @ Home
  76. Global Fair Communications
  77. Greenland Technologies
  78. Intraglobe Communications
  79. Level3 Carrier
  80. ADN International Gateway Limited. Formerly Managewell Communication Ltd
  81. Mango Teleservices
  82. MaxNet Online
  83. NovoCom
  84. PeerEx Networks Limited
  85. Radiant Communications Limited
  86. REGO Communications
  87. CiTYCOM NETWORK
  88. 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:
  1. MetroNet Bangladesh Ltd.
  2. Icon Infotech Ltd.
  3. Amber IT Ltd.
  4. Telnet Communication Ltd.
  5. Link3 Technologies Ltd.
  6. BDCOM Online Ltd.
  7. Access Telecom Ltd.
  8. .
  9. Agni Systems Ltd.
  10. Rightsoft Systems.
  11. Akceycom Ltd.
  12. Akij Online Ltd.
  13. Bangladesh Export Import Company Ltd.
  14. Bangladesh Internet Exchange Ltd.
  15. BEXIMCO AND SQUARE
  16. BRACNet Ltd.
  17. Broad Band Telecom Services Ltd.
  18. BTS Communications Ltd., branded as UbernetBD
  19. Communication One Ltd.
  20. Connect BD Ltd.
  21. Cyber Net Communications
  22. dhakaCom Ltd.
  23. Digital Connectivity Ltd.
  24. ERGO Ventures Ltd.
  25. Global Access Ltd.
  26. HRC Technologies Ltd.
  27. Idea Networks And Communications Ltd.
  28. IDS Bangladesh
  29. Information Services Network Ltd.
  30. Innovative Online Ltd.
  31. InterCloud Ltd.
  32. IS PROS Ltd.
  33. MaxNet Online
  34. .
  35. Link3 Technologies Ltd.
  36. Nreach Net Ltd.
  37. Pritty International Ltd.
  38. Ranks ITT Ltd.
  39. Royal Green Online Ltd.
  40. X-Net Ltd.
  41. TeleBangla Communications Ltd.
  42. RED Data Ltd.
  43. Triangle Services LTD
  1. Fusion Net
  2. Grameen Cybernet Ltd.
  3. IT Connect Ltd.
  4. J F Optical Services
  5. M/s. Media & Multimedia
  6. Next Online Ltd.
  7. SADIATEC Ltd.
  8. Sine-10 Ltd.
  1. Chittagong Online Ltd.
  2. Chittagong Telecom Services Ltd.
  3. First n Fast IT Ltd.
  4. HN TELECOM
    International Terrestrial Cable (ITC) operator
  5. 1Asia Alliance Communication
  6. BD Link Communication Ltd
  7. Fiber @ Home
  8. Mango Teleservices
  9. NovoCom
  10. Summit Communications

    Radio

Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2, community radio 1, internet radios
Radios: 6.15 million
The government owned Betar-Radio Bangladesh operates from Dhaka and other local districts. Currently, the 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 number of private satellite channels is growing. The first private channel in Bangladesh was ATN Bangla. There are 5 full-fledged news channels. Gaan Bangla,Channel-16 TV new name Music Bangla the first full-time music channel in Bangladesh, commenced operations by 16 December 2011.

Internet

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, claim Norwegian owned Telenor. Recently the government has decided to reduce the tariff 50%.
The internet country code of Bangladesh is.bd.
As of 2005 more than 180 Internet Service Providers are operating in the country. ISP's are regulated by the Bangladesh telecommunication regulatory commission.
The number of internet users in Bangladesh as of March 2009 is over 600,000, compared to 100,000 in 2000. 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.
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.
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 per cent 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 slowly progressing. 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.
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 send its first ever satellite Bangabandhu-1 into space in MAY 11 2018.

Submarine cables

Bangladesh is connected to SEA-ME-WE 4 or SMW-4 and SEA-ME-WE 5 submarine cable systems. The landing site of the SMW-4 Bangladesh branch is located in Cox's Bazaar 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.