airtel Bangladesh
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Telecommunication |
| Predecessor | Warid Bangladesh |
| Founded | December 2, 2010 (Registration date) |
| Headquarters | House 34, Road 19/A, Banani, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh |
Key people | Mr. Prasanta Das Sarma (CEO and MD) |
| Products | Telephony, EDGE, GPRS, GSM, HSPA+/3G |
 ₹21.771 billion (US$320 million) (2010)[1] | |
|
₹18.282 billion (US$270 million) (2010)[1] | |
| Total assets |
₹856.142 billion (US$13 billion) (2010) [1] |
| Total equity |
|
| Parent | Bharti Airtel (100%) |
| Slogan | দেশের সেরা স্মার্টফোন নেটওয়ার্ক / The Smartphone Network |
| Website | bd.airtel.com |
Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. (Bengali: এয়ারটেল), DBA airtel, formerly known as Warid Telecom, is a GSM and 3G based cellular operator in Bangladesh. Airtel Bangladesh Limited is one of the fastest growing mobile operators in Bangladesh and is a concern of Bharti Airtel Limited, a leading global telecommunications services provider. On 28 January 2016, the two parent companies of Robi and Airtel signed a formal deal to merge their operations in Bangladesh.[2] According to the amalgamation plan, the merged entity, which will operate under the brand name of Robi, will be 70 percent-owned by Axiata Group, Malaysia's largest mobile carrier.[3]
The company offers a wide array of innovative mobile services, including voice, value added services, data and m-commerce products and is focused on expanding its state-of-the-art mobile network both for coverage and capacity. With a customer base of more than 10 million, Airtel Bangladesh is the most preferred youth brand of the country that thrives on excellent data service. To make customers' lives easier Airtel Bangladesh has Doorstep Service by which customers can enjoy all kinds of service at their preferred place. M-Commerce opened a new horizon in money transfer that gives Airtel customers the freedom to send money to their dear ones instantly from their mobile. Through M-health, customers can now reach professional doctors over phone 24/7 and get basic treatment.
Airtel is the sixth mobile phone carrier to enter the Bangladesh market, and originally launched commercial operations under the brand name 'Warid' on May 10, 2007.In 2010, Bharti Airtel bought out majority share of the company. As of February 2016, Airtel Bangladesh has 10.351 million subscribers.[4]
History
In 2010, Warid Telecom sold a majority 70% stake in the company to India's Bharti Airtel Limited for 300 million US$.[5] The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission approved the deal on Jan 4, 2010.[6] Bharti Airtel Limited took management control of the company and its board, and rebranded the company's services under its own airtel brand from December 20, 2010.
On December 21, 2011, Airtel Bangladesh launched "Airtel Circle of Friends", the first ever Interactive Commercial in Bangladesh, created and executed by Digimarka.
In March, 2013, Warid Telecom sold its rest 30% share to Bharti Airtel’s Singapore-based concern Bharti Airtel Holdings Pte Limited for 80 million US$.[7][8]
On September 8, 2013, Airtel Bangladesh received 5 MHz 3G spectrum with 1.25 million US$.
On 28 January 2016, it was announced that Robi and Airtel Bangladesh will merge in Q1 2016. The combined entity will be called Robi, to serve about 40 million subscribers combined by both networks. Axiata Group will own 68.3% share, while Bharti Group will own 25%. The remaining shares will be owned by NTT DoCoMo.[9][10] Regulatory approvals are expected to come within the first half of 2016.
Numbering scheme
Airtel Bangladesh uses the following numbering scheme:
+880 16 N8N4N9N3N6N9N0N0
Where, 880 is the ISD code for Bangladesh and is needed only in case of dialling from outside Bangladesh.
16 is the prefix for Airtel Bangladesh as allocated by the government of Bangladesh. Omitting +880 will require using 0 in place of it instead to represent local call, hence 016 is the general prefix.
N1N2N3N4N5N6N7N8 is the subscriber number.
Products offered
Airtel provides both post-paid and pre-paid connection plans. Its prepaid features the remarkable Ajibon 1 Paisa[11] offer. Airtel Postpaid and Airtel Prepaid users enjoy various value added services (VAS), such as SMS, MMS, GPRS, "Smart SIM", International Roaming, Corporate packages for product advertising via SMS etc. Airtel Bangladesh provides the lowest rate for regular 1GB 3G Data which is only 199 BDT without taxes.[12] Despite offering the cheapest services, Airtel cannot resolve customers' complaints about its network quality.
Customer care
Airtel has seven customer care centers around the country, which are known as "Airtel experience centers" (AECs), located at key locations. These centers are directly run by Airtel itself.
Airtel has another 77 dealer outlet spread across Bangladesh, the largest chain of retail outlets in the country, which is further backed up by a chain of sub-dealers, affinity partners & distributors. Dealer outlets of Airtel are known as "Airtel relationship centers" (ARCs).
SIM cards, recharge scratch cards, handsets and internet devices are sold at these outlets. Bill collection for post-paid users and "Ezeeload" (top-ups) for pre-paid users can also be availed at the franchises. These franchises directly appoint dealers and sub-dealers in their designated areas.
See also
References
- 1 2 3 http://airtel.in/QuarterlyResult/Quarterly_report_Q3_10.pdf
- ↑ "Robi-Airtel merger sparks mixed reactions". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
- ↑ "HC gives eight weeks for Robi-Airtel merger decision". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
- ↑ "BTRC Monthly Report (Feb'16)".
- ↑ R. Jai Krishna And Prasanta Sahu (2010-01-12). "Bharti Airtel to Buy Warid Telecom for $300 Million - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ↑ Ahmed, Rumman (2010-01-05). "Bharti Airtel to Invest $300 Million in Warid Telecom - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ↑ "Bharti Buys out airtel Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 9 Oct 2013.
- ↑ "Airtel spends $80 million for additional 30% stake in Airtel Bangladesh". The Daily Ittefaq. Retrieved 2 Feb 2016.
- ↑ "Malaysia's Axiata and India's Bharti to merge subsidiaries". Reuters. 2016-01-28. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ↑ "Axiata and Bharti Airtel Agree to Merge Operations in Bangladesh". Axiata. 2016-01-28. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ↑ AirtelBuzz. "Ajibon 1 paisa". BD.AIRTEL.COM. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
- ↑ AirtelBuzz. "Self-care Packages". BD.AIRTEL.COM. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
External links
| ||||||