Grameen Mobile Model and Mobile Broadband

CTO Forum 2013Innovation Through BB

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory CommissionBangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission

Grameen Mobile Model and Mobile

Broadband

Bangladesh Case

1

Sunil Kanti BOSE, Chairman, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission


Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission

Bangladesh

2

Population:161.6 M

(Estimated 2012)

Area:147K sq. KM Population under poverty level:

25.1%

Per Capita Income: USD 1044

Literacy rate: 60.08%

Rural-Urban Ratio: 80:20

Inflation: 9% GDP Growth Rate: 6.18%

Size of GDP: USD 118 Billion

Source: BDNews24.com & Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

Overview - Bangladesh



Bangladesh

33

Wireless Network Coverage

19973 /64 Districts

200030 /64 Districts



At present64 /64 Districts

Coverage



Bangladesh

44

• Tele-density is more than

70%• Internet Penetration is more

than 20.5%

• Over 100 M Telecom

Subscribers

• More than 31 MInternet users.

Tele-Penetration

Internet Penetration

70%

20.5%

ICT Indicators

Statistical Indicators - Bangladesh



Bangladesh

1991: Beginning of mobile era

1996: 3 more GSM licenses

2005: 2 more GSM licenses

2007: Introduced Tariff Circuit

42%

26%

22%

7%

1% 2%

Grameen

Banglalink

Robi

Airtel

Citycell

Teletalk

6 Operators, 106 million connections.

Mobile Telecom Scenario

5



Bangladesh

:

From voice to data

Urban youths on voice calls

Urban youth on mobile internet

Mobile internet:

GPRS: 2005

EDGE: 2007

3G: 2012

35 Million internet users

95% usage on mobile

95%

Mobile

ISP+PSTN

WiMAX

Evolution of Mobile in Bangladesh

6



Bangladesh

Brief History of Village Phone

7



Bangladesh

Earning opportunity for the poor rural women to eradicate poverty

It has been proven that even the illiterate poor rural women can confidently handle the state of the art IT

Empowering women to fulfill one of the cornerstones of the Millennium Development Goals

Playing an important role in enhancing social and economic development

Village Phone – Empowering Rural Womenthrough earning scope to eradicate poverty…

8



Bangladesh

Village Phone: A History of Fight Against Poverty

Every freedom counts - Village Phone

In rural areas, where isolation and poor infrastructure services are

often the norm, telecommunications can play an extremely important

role in enhancing social and economic development. The Village

Phone (VP) initiative has made tremendous social and economic

impact in the rural areas of Bangladesh, creating a 'substantial

consumer surplus' for the users. On the other hand, it has created an

income-earning opportunity for the VP operators, mostly poor

women and borrower members of Grameen Bank, who are now able

to make their opinions count.

Launch Date:

26 March, 1997, the same day commercial service of

Grameenphone was launched.

9



Bangladesh

Village Phone: A History of Fight Against Poverty

How It Works:

Grameen Telecom supervises the village phone activities in

cooperation with Grameen Bank and Grameenphone.

The Village Phones work as an owner-operated pay phone. A

member of Grameen Bank takes a loan to buy a handset and a GP

subscription and she is trained by Grameen Telecom on how to

operate it. The VP operators then retails the mobile phone service

among her fellow villagers, thus earning an income.

Project Milestone:

→ More than 1mill Village Phone in rural areas of Bangladesh.

→ Replicated in a number of countries including Uganda and

Rwanda.

→ Received 'GSMA in the Community Award' in 2000.

→ Received 'Commonwealth Innovation Award' in 2003.

→ Received "Petersburg Prize" awarded by the Gateway

Foundation in 2005.

10



Bangladesh

Village Phone Lady (1997)

Info Lady (2008)

Grameenphone CIC(2006) 502 centers

covering all sub-districts

Union Info & Services Center (2010) by

GoB in 4500 Unions


11



Bangladesh

PC penetration is very low .

Cost is higher than mobile.

People are moving towards mobile devices like smart phones and tabs than PCs or

laptops due to affordability and user friendliness.

Device preferences

12



Bangladesh

• Prices are reducing for feature phones, Smartphone and tabs

• Regional and Local handset vendors presence in the market

Price of a 3G enabled handset is as low as 75 USD

According to the analysts, the country’s market is growing at 10% per month,

and given this growth rate, after one year, the country will become a market of

at least 3m handsets of this kind.

Mobile devices: fuel for internet growth

13



Bangladesh

2 BWA licensees, WiMAX

mobility

Local ISPs more than 200

NTTN: National Telecom Transmission Network

Provider

16 Thousands of KM of fiber available in the

country. By MNOs, PSTNs and NTTNs.

BWA and other ISPs

contribute 5% for the market

of internet.

Players influencing the Internet in Bangladesh

14



Bangladesh

• Social networking sites: 3.3 Million face book users

• Internet Ads by players in the market

• Internet festivals & competition

Other factors influencing the growth

15



Bangladesh

• The state owned mobile operator was given the

option to launch 3G in 2012.

• On 8th September 2013, Bangladesh auctioned

the 2100 MHz spectrum for 4 other operators.

• More speed, more applications

• More internet usage

• More growth, more development

3G: A new era in Bangladesh

16



Bangladesh

Mobile changing lifestyle

Health

Agriculture

Education

Financial Service


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Bangladesh

18

Thank You

Documents

Grameen Mobile Model and Mobile Broadband