Bangladesh

Geographic Region (ITU/UN)

ISO 3166 Code

BD

M49 Code

050

MCC

470

ITU Member

Yes

ITU-R Region

Overview

Bangladesh ( বাংলাদেশ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It shares land borders with India and Myanmar (Burma).

Bangladesh introduced Advanced Mobile Phone system (AMPS) technology back in 1993 as the first ever country in South Asia. Though the first mobile phone license was awarded in 1989, due to poor mobile coverage it took many years to extend its services to the people of the country. The subscriber state was also very poor because of high call rate. In 1996, the then Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina awarded three more mobile phone licenses to create a competitive market in the mobile phone industry and to reach the services to the root level subscribers. In the later stage, with the entrance of few more operators in this sector, the market became very competitive in the last decade.

In order to provide services through 3G UMTS technology, in 2013 35 MHz of B1 (2100 MHz) spectrum were assigned to five operators; Grameenphone Ltd., Banglalink Digital Communication Ltd., Robi Axiata Ltd., Airtel Bangladesh Ltd., and Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd.

In order to enhance 4G services, assignment of frequency from 700 MHz (703 to 748 / 758 to 803) band is under consideration. If 700 MHz band spectrum is assigned, it will be possible to provide telecommunication services in villages and distant areas, the data rates of the network will be increased, and it will be possible to ensure service of the subscribers. Initiatives have also been taken so that operators can provide 4G LTE services in the densely populated region using higher spectrum bands.

The growing sub-sectors around the telecom arena created job opportunities for the general people and contributed in education and health sector. This has influenced millions of people and made communication easier between people and the Bangladeshi economy has been greatly boosted up. According to the report of Bangladesh bank, 8% of the national revenue has been earned from telecom sector in 2008 and 59% direct investment has been made in this particular sector.

Telecom market (June 2017, ITU):

  • Total mobile penetration rate: 83.8%
  • 3G mobile coverage by population: 91.4%
  • 4G LTE coverage by population: 65.0%

Regulatory Environment

Bangladesh is a member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and as such follows radio frequency harmonisation principles according to ITU-R Region-3. The regulatory body governing communications policy is the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), and the National Broadcasting Authority is charged with regulating the country's radio frequency spectrum activities such as planning, allocations, and licencing.

Bangladesh 5G

The BTRC is reportedly preparing to issue 5G licences in 2020.

National Mobile Network Operators

There are 3 mobile network operators servicing this region.

3G: N/A
4G: Active
5G: N/A
IoT: N/A
3G: Active
3G Bands: B1 (2100 MHz)
4G: Active
5G: Planned
IoT: N/A
3G: Active
3G Bands: B1 (2100 MHz)
4G: Active
4G Bands: B1 (2100 MHz)
5G: Active
5G Bands: n78 (3500 MHz)
IoT: N/A