Bangladesh’s technology landscape, particularly in telecommunications, is shaped by a blend of geographical challenges and unique innovations. The country is marked by large population clusters centred around urban areas, with widespread rural zones presenting particular challenges for connectivity. Despite this, Bangladesh has made significant strides towards digital inclusivity with the implementation of initiatives like the Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN), enabling greater broadband access in remote locations. Unique territories such as the densely populated Dhaka city are served by concentrated technology infrastructure, while regions like Chittagong Hill Tracts see custom solutions suited to the topographical complexities. Bangladesh's thriving tech scene, evident in its growing IT hubs and software development centres, is testimony to impressive infrastructure advances, such as submarine cable systems and satellite communication, surpassing its geographical limitations. The country’s telecom sector continues to grapple with infrastructure costs, regulatory hurdles and natural disasters, but it's also a landscape of creative problem-solving and resilience.
Mobile Network Operators
The are 4 companies operating mobile networks in this region.
Grameenphone, often abbreviated as GP, is the leading telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh. It was founded by Iqbal Quadir who aimed to provide universal mobile phone access throughout Bangladesh, including its rural areas. The company is a joint venture between Telenor, a telecommunications company from Norway, and Grameen Telecom Corporation, with Telenor owning a 55.8% share, Grameen Telecom owning 34.2% and the remaining 10% being publicly held. Grameenphone was the first company to introduce GSM technology over 900 and 1800 MHz in Bangladesh, and also the first to introduce a...
Robi Axiata Limited is the second largest mobile phone operator of Bangladesh and the first operator to introduce 2G and 3G services in the country. The company commenced operation in 1997 as Telekom Malaysia International (Bangladesh) with the brand name ‘Aktel’. In 2010 the company was rebranded to ‘Robi’ and the company changed its name to Robi Axiata Limited.
In November 2016 mobile carriers Robi Axiata and Airtel Bangladesh completed a merger, initiated as a joint venture between Axiata Group Berhad, of Malaysia, Bharti Airtel Limited, of India and NTT DoCoMo Inc., of Japan. The resulting...
Teletalk Bangladesh Limited, operating under the brand name Teletalk, is a state-owned mobile phone operator in Bangladesh. The company was incorporated on 26 December 2004 as a public limited company under the Companies Act, 1994. It is the only government-sponsored mobile telephone company in the country and launched its commercial operations on the same day of its incorporation. The company was initially launched as a subsidiary project of the Bangladesh Telephone & Telegraph Board (BTTB), named BTTB bMobile. It was later rebranded to Teletalk, and Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd was formed as the...