Native name | গ্রামীণফোন লিমিটেড |
---|---|
Company type | Public |
DSE: GP CSE: GP | |
Industry | Mobile telecommunication services |
Founded | 26 March 1997 in Dhaka, Bangladesh [1] |
Founder | Iqbal Quadir Muhammad Yunus |
Headquarters | GP House, Bashundhara Residential Area, , |
Area served | Nationwide |
Key people |
|
Products | |
Brands |
|
Services |
|
Revenue | ৳150.4 billion (US$1.3 billion) (FY 2022) |
৳91.48 billion (US$760 million) (FY 2022) | |
৳30.09 billion (US$250 million) (FY 2022) | |
Total assets | ৳185.09 billion (US$1.5 billion) (FY 2022) |
Number of employees | 1,475 [2] [3] (2021) |
Parent | Telenor (55.80%) Grameen Telecom (34.20%) |
Website | grameenphone |
Grameenphone, widely abbreviated as (d/b/a) GP, is a telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh. As of December 2023, its subscribers span over 82.20 million. [4] It is a joint venture between Telenor and Grameen Telecom. Where Telenor owns a 55.8% share of Grameenphone, Grameen Telecom owns 34.2% and the remaining 10% is publicly held. [5] As of Nov 2024, Grammenphone is Bangladesh's most valuable company with a market cap of ৳440.2 billion BDT or $3.6 billion USD. [6]
Grameenphone was the first company to introduce GSM technology over 900 and 1800 MHz in Bangladesh. [7] It was also the first company to introduce 5G network in the country, for which the first test was done in Dhaka and Chittagong metropolitan area in mid-2022. In September 2022, Grameenphone successfully conducted trials for the second time in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal, Mymensingh and Rangpur cities. [8]
Founder Muhammad Yunus founded Grameenphone to provide universal mobile phone access throughout Bangladesh, including its rural areas. [9] [10] He was inspired by the Grameen Bank micro-credit model and envisioned a business model where a cell phone can serve as a source of income. After leaving his job as an investment banker in the United States, Quadir met and successfully raised money from New York-based investor and philanthropist Joshua Mailman. He then returned to Bangladesh and worked for three years to gain support from organizations such as Grameen Bank and the Norwegian telecom company, Telenor. [11]
On 16 November 2006, Grameenphone officially changed its logo to match its parent company Telenor's logo.
Grameenphone uses the following numbering scheme for its subscribers:
880 is the ISD code for Bangladesh and is needed only in case of dialing from outside Bangladesh (otherwise, it may be substituted by a 0, making the prefix 013 & 017).
13 & 17 is the prefix for Grameenphone as allocated by the government of Bangladesh. The following eight-digit number XXXXXXXX is the subscriber number. After exhausting the 017 series, Grameenphone became the first operator to launch a second series, the 013. [12]
In 2018, when Mobile number portability was introduced users can port to any operator without changing its number. [13] [14]
As of September 2024, total number of customer are 84.83 Million. [15]
According to Grameenphone, it has invested more than BDT 347.4 billion (US$4.12 billion) to build the network infrastructure since 2018. Grameenphone has built the largest cellular network in the country. [16] Until July 2024, GP (Grameenphone) has 22,554 Mobile Network towers or BTS, which geographically covers the largest population of Bangladesh with mobile network services.
The Grameenphone network is also GPRS/EDGE/3G-enabled, with a growing 4G network, allowing internet access within its coverage area. its spectrum volume is 127. 4 MHz, 107.4 MHz are currently being used by Grameenphone, the remaining 20 MHz will be added from June 2025. Besides, Grameenphone is trying to buy more 850 bands of 10 MHz spectrum.
Band | Frequency | Frequency Width | Protocol | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
8 | 900 MHz | 7.4;MHz | EDGE / LTE / LTE | |
3 | 1800 MHz | 20;MHz | EDGE / LTE / LTE-A, 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC | |
1 | 2100 MHz | 20;MHz | LTE / LTE-A, 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC | |
41 | 2600 MHz | 80;MHz | LTE / LTE-A, 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC |
Grameenphone introduced pre-paid mobile phone service in Bangladesh in September 1999 via an EDGE/GPRS/3G/4G enabled network. Grameenphone was the first mobile operator in Bangladesh to offer internet via EDGE and 3G 4G services to its subscribers. [17]
In March 2022, Grameenphone released embedded-SIM (eSIM). [18] [19]
GrameenPhone has E-SIM [20]
With the help of Grameenphone, Grameen Telecom operates the national Village Phone program, alongside its own parent Grameen Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), acting as the sole provider of telecommunications services to a number of rural areas. Most Village Phone participants are women living in remote areas. Village Phone works as an owner-operated GSM payphone whereby a borrower takes a BDT 12,000 (US$200) loan from Grameen Bank to subscribe to Grameenphone and is then trained on how to operate it and how to charge others to use it at a profit. As of September 2006, there are more than 255,000 Village Phones in operation in 55,000 villages around Bangladesh. This program has been replicated also in some other countries including Uganda and Rwanda in Africa. [21]
Grameenphone Corporate Headquarter (popularly known as "GP House"). Located at Bashundhara R/A, Dhaka, was formally inaugurated on 23 November 2010. [22] GP House is considered one of the successful office buildings in Bangladesh. [22] It has been designed by Architect Mohammad Foyez Ullah, Mustapha Khalid Palash and their team. [23] [24]
Community Information Center (CIC) or GPCIC was an initiative aimed at providing internet access and other communications services to rural areas. In February 2006, 26 CICs were established across the country as a pilot project. In this project, Grameenphone provided GSM/EDGE/GPRS infrastructure and technical support and other partners Grameen Telecom Corporation and Society for Economic and Basic Advancement (SEBA), were involved in selecting and training entrepreneurs to run the village centers. These CICs were used for a wide variety of business and personal purposes, from accessing health and agricultural information to using government services to video conferencing with relatives overseas. Grameenphone also trained entrepreneurs so that they could demonstrate to people how to set up an e-mail account and best make use of the Internet. Currently, none of the CICs are being operated by GP.
A Grameenphone Centre (GPC) serves as a "one-stop solution" for customers, with all telecommunications products and services, under a single roof. A Grameenphone Centre also sells phones from vendors like Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi and more. EDGE/GPRS modems and accessories such chargers and headphones are also sold at GPCs.
As of February 2013, there are 85 [25] GPCs and they are strategically located at all major locations of the country operated by Grameenphone. There are two GP Lounges for customer experience of GP Digital Services. There are also 376,285 unique recharge outlets and 6,836 GP Express Stores all across Bangladesh.
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablets. GSM is also a trade mark owned by the GSM Association. "GSM" may also refer to the voice codec initially used in GSM.
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a 3G mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP, UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunication Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for networks based on the competing cdmaOne technology. UMTS uses wideband code-division multiple access (W-CDMA) radio access technology to offer greater spectral efficiency and bandwidth to mobile network operators.
The telecom sector in Bangladesh is rapidly emerging. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is the regulatory authority for this sector, overseeing licensing, policy, etc.
Celcom Axiata Berhad was the oldest mobile telecommunications provider in Malaysia. Celcom was a member of the Axiata group of companies. Celcom was merged with Digi to form CelcomDigi on 1 December 2022.
3G is the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology. It is the upgrade to 2G, 2.5G, GPRS and 2.75G Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution networks, offering faster data transfer, and better voice quality. This network was superseded by 4G, and later by 5G. This network is based on a set of standards used for mobile devices and mobile telecommunications services and networks that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications set by the International Telecommunication Union. 3G is used in wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV.
Beeline, formerly Bee Line GSM is a telecommunications brand by company PJSC VimpelCom, founded in Russia.
Nepal Saar Doorsanchar Company Ltd., popularly known as Nepal Telecom or NTC, is a state-owned telecommunications service provider in Nepal. The company was a monopoly until 2003, when the first private sector operator, United Telecom Limited (UTL), started providing basic telephone services. The central office of Nepal Telecom is located at Bhadrakali Plaza, Kathmandu. It has branches, exchanges, and other offices in 184 locations within the country.
Yettel Bulgaria is the largest mobile network and the third largest fixed telecommunications company in Bulgaria. The company was founded under the name "Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile" in 2001 by OTE and operated under the brand name "Globul" until 2014. In 2013 it was bought by Telenor and changed its name. In August 2018, the company was acquired by PPF, a Czech private investment fund. The company continued to use the Telenor brand until 1 March 2022, when it was renamed to Yettel Bulgaria. In February 2024, the company was acquired by e& (Etisalat), and the merger was approved by Bulgaria's competition watchdog. However the branding of Yettel has not yet been changed.
Telenor Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited is a Pakistani wireless network operator headquartered in Islamabad, Pakistan. Khurrum Ashfaque is the current chief executive officer (CEO).
Yettel Serbia is a Serbian mobile, fixed, internet and IPTV provider, owned by the Czech investment group PPF. It is headquartered in Belgrade. As of 2020, it is the second largest mobile telephony operator with market share of 36.98%.
Grameen Telecom (GTC) was established in Bangladesh by Muhammad Yunus with a partial stake in Grameenphone (GP) and registered as a Not-for-Profit Company, Limited by Guarantee, under Section 28 of the Companies Act, 1994. GTC launched the program of Village Phone that enables rural poor to own a mobile phone and turn it into a profit-making venture. The vision behind the village phone program was formulated by Iqbal Quadir, who was convinced that a mobile phone could become a source of income. Quadir worked with Yunus and the Norwegian company Telenor to make the program a reality.
Robi Axiata PLC. is the second largest mobile network operator in Bangladesh. Axiata of Malaysia holds a major controlling stake of 61.82% in the company, while Bharti Airtel of India holds 28.18% and investors in DSE and CSE hold 10%. Robi first commenced operation in 1997 as Telekom Malaysia International (Bangladesh) with the brand name ‘AKTEL’. In 2010, the company was re-branded to ‘Robi’ and the company changed its name to Robi Axiata Limited. As per government rule, the name changed to Robi Axiata PLC in 2024 as Robi is listed in Stock Market and a Public Limited Company. Robi Axiata has spectrum on GSM 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands. On 16 November 2016, Airtel Bangladesh was merged into Robi as a product brand of Robi, where Robi Axiata PLC is the licensee of Airtel brand only in Bangladesh. Having successfully completed the merger process, Robi has emerged as the second largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh.
Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd., d.b.a. Banglalink is a Dutch-owned telecommunications company headquartered in Gulshan-1, Dhaka. It is the third-largest mobile network operator in Bangladesh and a fully-owned company of Telecom Ventures Ltd., a 100% owned subsidiary of Global Telecom Holding Ltd. VEON owns 51.9% shares of Global Telecom Holding following a business combination between VEON Ltd. and Wind Telecom S.p.A. in April 2011.
BSNLMobile is an Indian state-owned telecommunication company of the Government of India. BSNL Mobile operates under the BSNL brand and provides wireless cellular services to B2B, B2C, & B2G segments in India. BSNL Mobile has a pan-India presence with presence in all the 22 telecom circles in India.
The Grameen family of organizations has grown beyond Grameen Bank into a multi-faceted group of both commercial and non-profit ventures. It was first established by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning founder of Grameen Bank. Most of the organizations in the Grameen group have central offices at the Grameen Bank Complex in Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Grameen Bank started to diversify in the late 1980s when it began attending to unutilized or underutilized fishing ponds, as well as irrigation pumps like deep tubewells. In 1989, these diversified interests started growing into separate organizations, as the fisheries project became Grameen Fisheries Foundation and the irrigation project became Grameen Krishi Foundation.
Total Access Communication Public Company Limited is a GSM mobile phone company in Thailand. It is the nation's third largest GSM phone company, after AIS and True. DTAC is owned by Norwegian company Telenor both directly and indirectly, and both companies share the same logo. As of 31 December 2011, DTAC had 23.2 million subscribers with a market share of subscribers at around 30 percent. As of 2019, the company has 20.642 million mobile subscriptions and 3904 employees. It is listed on the Singapore Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
The Internet in Bangladesh has witnessed significant growth despite facing many constraints in expanding Internet access and use, development of the Internet and Information Technology are high government priorities. In March 2021, Internet users in Bangladesh increased to 116 million. On 19 February 2018, Bangladesh started the 4G network service.
Kamal Quadir is a Bangladeshi American entrepreneur and artist best known for introducing e-commerce in Bangladesh by founding CellBazaar, an electronic marketplace which, after reaching 4 million users, was acquired by Norwegian telecommunications operator Telenor in 2010. CellBazaar later was rebranded as ekhanei.com. He is the brother of Iqbal Quadir, who is an entrepreneur and promoter of the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in creating prosperity in low-income countries.
3G mobile telephony was relatively slow to be adopted globally. In some instances, 3G networks do not use the same radio frequencies as 2G so mobile operators must build entirely new networks and license entirely new frequencies, especially so to achieve high data transmission rates. Other delays were due to the expenses of upgrading transmission hardware, especially for UMTS, whose deployment required the replacement of most broadcast towers. Due to these issues and difficulties with deployment, many carriers delayed acquisition of these updated capabilities.
3 Hong Kong is a telecommunications and internet service provider operating in Hong Kong by Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, operating under the global Three brand. 3 Hong Kong is the first Three-branded company, leading to the development of other operations in different locations.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)Media related to Grameenphone at Wikimedia Commons