Bharti Airtel has introduced 3G data networks in Bangladesh and has decided to make it available in the country in a phased manner. Initially, the service will be rolled out in Dhaka and Chittagong and will then come to other regions in the country.
Now that the network has come to the country, the telecom operator naturally has designed new data plans for its customers. They are slated to be launched along with the new data speed. Airtel acquired 5MHz of 3G spectrum in an auction in Bangladesh for $105 million. The Pay as you Go data usage service will be available for 2G rates and under another promotional offer users can look forward to 100 percent bonus on 1GB or higher data packs.
Some other companies in the nation have also acquired 3G spectrums and these include Grameenphone, Banglalink Digital Communications and Robi Axiata. The later two managed to win 5MHz of spectrum just like Airtel and even shelled out the same amount of money. But as far as Grameenphone is concerned, it got double the amount of airwaves which means the company has 10MHz of it and naturally it even paid twice as much money. Its expenditure stands at $210 million.
Airtel has already started rolling out 4G network in India and we do not think it will be long before the company introduced this network speed in Bangladesh too. Acquiring the spectrum for it and getting the official permissions will hardly be an issue. What remains to be seen is when the network is introduced.