BTCL call charge 30 paisa per minute from June 1

The government has undertaken a project styled ‘Internet Information Network Expansion (Info- Bahon)’ involving Taka 1.38 billion for bringing all districts under internet facilities at a reasonable cost and easy process, reports BSS. Work for the project, that would be completed within one and a half months, would begin this month. Besides, subscribers of Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) can talk at the rate of Taka 0.30 per minute through the state-run land phone network across the country from June 1. Read more

Govt to reduce SIM tax below Tk 500

The government is likely to reduce the tax on SIM (Subscribers’ Identification Module) card to below Tk 500 from existing Tk 800 to help the industry recover from its sluggish growth. It might make the announcement in the upcoming budget, on June 11, against the backdrop of repeated plea of the telecom companies to salvage the sector. The growth rate of mobile phone business dropped to 30 per cent in 2008 from 103 per cent in 2006. It was 62 per cent in 2007. Read more

The BlackBerry Pearl 8120

Research in Motion’s latest BlackBerry Pearl handset, the 8120, sets a new cell-phone standard for delivering business-class e-mail and great multimedia in a small, sleek package. It’s the first Pearl with Wi-Fi support, which speeds up Web surfing and e-mail access. The Pearl 8120 improves on its predecessors with outstanding software for multimedia management and a better camera that captures video and stills.

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Wintel to set up migrants’ resource centre

A telecom solutions provider is setting up Bangladesh’s first migrants’ resource centre aiming to cater to the needs of millions of overseas job-seekers, the head of Wintel Limited said Tuesday. Faisal Alim, managing director, said the country’s largest value-added service provider for the telecom industry is now awaiting approval from the telecom regulator BTRC for a “premium” code to operate the centre. “Our aim is to open the centre early next month. We’re just waiting for the approval for a four-digit code to run it,” Mr Alim said. Read more

AKTEL receives award

AKTEL was recently awarded for its special contribution in customer service, says a press statement. Jefri Ahmad Tambi, managing director of AKTEL, received “The Telelink Telecommunications Award 2008″ from Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju, posts and telecommunications minister, at a ceremony at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka. Read more

Banglalink’s Q1 revenues soar

Banglalink’s efforts to generate higher incomes paid off as its revenue earnings increased by 21.5 percent to Tk 5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2009, compared to Tk 4.8 billion in 2008. Growth in revenues was driven by revenue enhancement initiatives, improved network quality, and selective subscriber acquisitions, according to a financial report published Tuesday on the website of Orascom Telecom Holding, the Egypt-based owning company of Banglalink. Orascom Telecom’s financial report also reiterated the possibility of a consolidation with another operator in Bangladesh. Read more

Govt may merge BTCL, BSCCL

The government is considering merging Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Ltd and Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd, while leaving Teletalk, the state-run mobile-phone operator, as a subsidiary company, the telecoms minister has said. The three companies were formed by splitting Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board (BTTB), during the military-installed caretaker government’s regime. A parliamentary committee would be formed to see if the bribe money paid by German industrial giant Siemens made its way to fund militancy, Read more

Samsung S5200 coming to the Netherlands, other countries

Remember Samsung S5200, the low-end-ish slider we saw back in April? Well, now we have more information to share about it. We’ve heard it’s about to hit BelCompany’s stores in the Netherlands for 129.99 EUR, which is about $182. Apparently, two versions of the device will be available — black/red and black/beige one — and they will come with a 2.1-inch QVGA screen, 3 megapixel camera with smile detection and LED flash, Bluetooth, music player, and we guess a microSD memory card… Read more

Spb TV now available for Symbian S60 smartphones

Spb Software announced that their Spb TV application is not longer a Windows Mobile thing only. Owners of the Symbian S60 3.1 (Feature pack 1) or higher devices can now watch live TV their phones, too. As with the Windows Mobile version, Spb TV for Symbian S60 is easy to use, sporting on-screen controls for volume and brightness, TV guide, picture-in-picture channel previews, quick channels switching control, and more. Over 100 international TV channels are available in a multitude of languages, meaning that you’ll certainly find something interesting to watch at any time of the day. Read more

Mobile importers seek duty cut in budget

Mobile handset importers have urged the government to cut import duty to Tk 100 from existing Tk 300 on each set in the upcoming budget, saying such a tax reduction will help users get quality products and discourage substandard handset imports. Leaders of Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association (BMPIA) said yesterday that a Tk 300 duty on imported handsets also precludes them from competing with low-cost handsets usually imported through illegal channels. Read more

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