Swedish telecoms equipment manufacturer Ericsson said on March 23 that it would offer cheaper network gear to operators in Bangladesh to help them reach people currently unable to afford communications services. "We shall offer around a 20 percent discount for Bangladeshi operators," Ericsson South East Asia President Kristian Tear said at a news conference. "Our aim is to make it possible for operators to rapidly reach more and more users in a profitable way."
Tear said Bangladesh is an attractive market for the mobile industry because only about 2.8 percent of its around 140 million people have mobile phones.
At the end of 2004, there were 3.8 million mobile phone users in the country. On average, Bangladeshi mobile phone subscribers use 300 minute per month, one of the highest in the region, according to Ericsson.
Four private operators offer cell phone services while another state-owned operator will launch shortly. GrameenPhone Ltd is the largest operator.