Robi celebrates 1 mln 4.5G subscribers’ milestone

By Shohel Hossain Ahmed

DHAKA, April 26 (NsNewsWire) –Bangladesh’s second largest mobile operator Robi Thursday celebrated a milestone of one million 4G customers it achieved with its advanced 4.5G technology.

In the fourth-generation arena, Robi says it is the first mobile phone operator to reach this milestone in the country.
Minister for Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology (MoPT&IT), Mustafa Jabbar attended the ceremony as the chief guest. State Minister, ICT Division, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, was present on the occasion as the special guest. Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited’s Managing Director, Mahfuz Uddin Ahmad was present as the guest of honour.
Apart from them, high officials from Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited were also present on the occasion.
Robi’s Managing Director and CEO, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed along with the Management Council members of the company were also present to celebrate this coveted milestone.
Since the launching of the 4.5G service in February, Robi has so far expanded its 4.5G network in 424 thanas (sub-districts) with more than 4,700 4.5G sites. This phenomenal network expansion took place following the launch of the service on 20 February. On that very day, the service was launched in all the 64 districts of the country, making it the largest ever roll-out of a new technology in the country. Meanwhile, another four lakh subscribers have subscribed to the Airtel 4G+ service so far.
MoPT&IT Minister, Mustafa Jabbar said: “As a Bangladeshi, I feel proud to have a Bangla word “Robi” as a brand name of a leading multinational company of the country. Robi has a special place in my heart as the font used in the brand was created by me. I would like to congratulate Robi for achieving the milestone before other operators. By taking 4G service to all the 64 district on the first day, Robi has honourned the national aspiration for a Digital Bangladesh. When I see Robi taking 4.5G service to Chalanbil and Haor area, I feel assured that they will be able to take their 4.5G service in all corners of the country very soon.”
ICT State Minister, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP said: “Digital Bangladesh can’t be built at 2G or 3G speed, it needs to happen at 4G speed and I am happy to see that Robi is progressing at 4.5G speed. Many had reservations about our readiness for 4G as a country, but Robi has proved the doubters wrong by connecting people from all walks of life with its 4.5G service. This phenomenal development has only been possible because of the Government’s role in facilitating the introduction of the 4G technology in the country.”
Hailing the milestone as a significant achievement for the company, Robi’s Managing Director and CEO, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed thanked the government for its all-out support in expediting the roll-out of Robi’s 4.5G and Airtel’s 4G+ service across the country. He also thanked the Robi officials as well as the Management Council members for their tireless efforts in reaching the 10 lakh subscribers’ milestone in such a short time.
Mahtab informed that Robi has invested around 3,000 crore taka so far for 4G service and the investment will continue in the future. With such massive investment, he said that Robi will be taking its 4.5G service in all the thanas of the country by the end of this year. He also renewed the company’s commitment to aggressively roll-out the service in the future.
Terming the limited penetration of 4G-enabled device a major impediment to the growth of the 4G business, Robi CEO requested the government to create the eco-system for expeditiously growing the device penetration rate. Robi CEO also identified fibre and lack of spectrum as the major problems for quality network and urged Government to liberalize fiber market and affordable spectrum to ensure quality of services.
Although he termed the progress encouraging, he felt that the prevailing imbalanced market competition, complex pricing regulation like off net and on net and lower average revenue per subscriber makes it very difficult for small operators like Robi to make a profit.
Across all operators, cost base of operations are more or less same, however, revenue remain significantly low.
On the same occasion, Robi launched innovative digital customer service channel – Video Chat for its Premium High Value 4.5G Customers for the first time in the telco industry. This is one of a kind major footstep by Robi towards Digital Transformation of the country as well.