Grameenphone Reaches 50 Million Customers

Grameenphone reaches 50 million customers

Telenor Group today announced that Grameenphone Ltd, its business unit in Bangladesh, has become the first ever mobile telecommunications operator to cross the 50 million subscriber milestone in the country.

Since starting operations in Bangladesh in 1997, Grameenphone has grown exponentially over the past 17 years. The company has the largest network with the widest coverage in the country, reaching 99% of the population, and recently completed the fastest ever nationwide rollout of 3G. “The real power of our industry is in bringing digital inclusion,” said Sigve Brekke, Executive Vice-President and Head of Telenor’s Asian operations. “Our ambition is to bring Internet for All and Bangladesh is one of the countries in which we are delivering on this promise by introducing high-quality hyper-connectivity at an affordable cost.” The 50 millionth customer milestone is part of Telenor’s overall growth trajectory in Asia, which now represents nearly 50 percent of the Group’s revenue. The occasion also underscores the company’s global commitment to connecting and empowering societies by bringing Internet for All. “Bangladesh is Telenor’s largest market by subscriber base. With our clear, mass-market approach that delivers on customer needs and brings as many people as possible online, we are confident in our continued growth in the market and this region,” Brekke added. From day one, Grameenphone has not only been the mobile operator for the masses, but also a company that prioritized the development of Bangladesh. One of the first inroads it made into the market was by reaching out to rural women and providing them loans to purchase mobile phones, enabling them to start businesses renting out those phones to villagers. Such initiatives to connect rural areas and empower village entrepreneurs have since expanded to offering such as mobile financial services, which provide banking solutions for the first time to many people in Bangladesh. As a central integrator of services, Telenor and its business units are embracing the evolving role of telecoms operators. While continuing to work with traditional partners such as governments and infrastructure providers, they are also identifying solutions with new partners. An example of this is the recent partnership in Bangladesh with Mozilla, jointly launching a Firefox OS phone with local device maker Symphony to provide an open-platform, low-cost smartphone which will further expand Internet access to consumers across the country. Today, Dhaka is among the fastest growing cities on Facebook as Internet connectivity continues to expand with such innovative new solutions. “Today we celebrate our customers with this milestone. When we started this journey, we pledged to provide uncompromising service – I am happy to say that we have not wavered. We still strive towards ensuring the best services for our customers, who remain our utmost priority,” said Vivek Sood, CEO, Grameenphone. “Without the whole hearted support from all our customers, partners and stakeholders, we could not have come this far,” Sood added. Meanwhile, Grameenphone also invests in various corporate social responsibility activities such as remote medical services and an innovative Internet school program that brings education to rural villages that were previous without access to teachers. “Our commitment to empower and build societies is unwavering. We will continue to work to enhance the lives of our 50 million customers in Bangladesh and 160 million customers in Asia by focusing on our Internet for All mission and delivering tailored solutions that meet the needs of our users,” Brekke concluded.

Contact

Telenor Group is one of the world's major mobile operators. We keep our customers connected in our markets across Scandinavia and Asia. Our more than 30,000 employees are committed to responsible business conduct and being our customers' favourite partner in digital life. Connecting the world has been Telenor's domain for more than 160 years, and we are driven by a singular vision: to empower societies. Telenor Group: Tor Odland, VP Communications, e-mail: [email protected], Tel: +65 (0) 9777 4782

About Telenor Group

Telenor Group is an international provider of tele, data and media communication services. Telenor Group has mobile operations in 13 markets in the Nordic region, Central and Eastern Europe and in Asia, as well as a voting stake of 42.95 per cent (economic stake 33 per cent) in VimpelCom Ltd., operating in 17 markets. Headquartered in Norway, Telenor Group is one of the world’s major mobile operators with 161 million mobile subscriptions.

About Grameenphone Ltd.

Grameenphone, part of the Telenor Group, is a leading telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh with 50 million subscribers. Since its inception in 1997, Grameenphone has built the largest cellular network in the country, covering nearly 99 percent of the country's population. With its brand promise to enable customers to “Go beyond”, Grameenphone seeks to help customers get the full benefit of mobile data and voice services and provide Internet For All. Grameenphone is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. www.grameenphone.com : www.facebook.com/grameenphone.