telecom bd

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State-owned mobile operator Teletalk is in the final stage of launching 3rd-generation (3G) mobile services by the end of this month, according to sources in the company. Technically called high-speed packet access (HSPA), 3G mobile service is a fully wireless broadband facility, which can be accessed through 3G-enabled mobile handsets, smartphones and modems. Md Mujibur Rahman, managing director
of Teletalk, told us that the operator had installed over 200 3G-enabled base transceiver systems (BTS) in Dhaka. For the past one month, Teletalk had also been doing active marketing for the launch of its 3G services, he added.
"The technical set-up to start 3G services has been completed. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will launch the service within a week,” he said.
Rahman said that initially only Dhaka-based subscribers would be able to avail the 3G service. By September, the 3G-enabled BTSs would be set up in Gazipur, Narayanganj, Ashulia and Savar, he said.
By December, 3G service would be expanded to Chittagong and, by January next year, Sylhet would get the service, he said, adding that after Sylhet, all divisional cities would gradually get the 3G service.
Initially, the service would be confined to the divisional cities, but, later, it would be expanded to the rest of the country, the Teletalk MD said.
The divisional cities were the initial targets of the 3G launch, since about 10 lakh 3G-enabled cell phone users are based there, Rahman said.
The country currently has about 9 crore mobile telephony subscribers, according to data of the Bangladesh Telecommu-nication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
About the price of 3G SIM, Rahman said, initially Teletalk would charge Tk. 1,500 for a 3G-enabled SIM. “Teletalk's existing subscribers will be given preference,” he said.
Teletalk has already sought applications from its existing subscribers in this regard. “Initially, 3 lakh subscribers will be given 3G SIMs through lottery. By December, another 4 lakh SIMs will be distributed," he said.
Rahman said that Teletalk had already signed an agreement with Samsung, to launch a packaged deal comprising a 3G-enabled handset and SIM. “This deal will be available at Samsung outlets across the capital,” he said.
About the prospects of 3G service, he said that since 3G-enabled handsets are costly, the market would be confined within a small fraction of the total number of subscribers. “But, over time, the market will expand and the cost of providing 3G services will reduce,” he said. Moreover, in the near future, mobile operators would share common infrastructure, obviating the need for 3G-dedicated installations across the country, he said.
Telecom industry experts welcomed the Teletalk move to launch 3G services, saying it would usher in a new era of mobile communications in Bangladesh, helping further developments in education, health care, agriculture and other important sectors.
The experts added that it would enable policymakers to observe implementation of government policies from remote locations, which would reduce malpractices at the field level.