Telenor’s Grameenphone welcomes 50 millionth customer in Bangladesh

Telenor’s Grameenphone Tuesday celebrated a remarkable milestone on Tuesday when it welcomed its 50 millionth mobile customer in Bangladesh.
Grameenphone (GP), 55.8 percent owned by Norwegian telecom company Telenor and 34.2 percent by local Grameen Telecom, has achieved this goal after 17 years of business in the country.
At a press conference in Dhaka, top officials of Grameenphone made the announcement of reaching 50 million mobile users and expressed their commitment to making more successes in the future, reports Xinhua.
Moving forward, they said GP, which is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, is hoping to grow its subscribers through maintaining a strong focus on rural penetration, innovation and customer responsiveness.
“When we started this journey we pledged to provide uncompromising service to our customers. I am happy to say that we have not wavered and still strive toward ensuring the best services for our customers,” said Vivek Sood, chief executive officer (CEO) of Grameenphone.
“Without the whole-hearted support from all our customers, partners, regulators and other stakeholders, we could not have come this far,” he said.
The GP CEO also declared the company’s ambition to serve 50 million internet users on its network within the next five years.
To that end, Grameenphone in October started offering 3G or third generation mobile services to its customers in Bangladesh .
The launch of commercial 3G services followed the acquisition of 10 MHz spectrum in the 2100 MHz-band, which enabled the rollout of a nationwide network with enhanced capacity and instant mobile internet access for all of its customers.
Calling the celebration of 50 million customers more than just a fete for GP alone, Allan Bonke, the company’s chief marketing officer (CMO), laid out a list of attractive offers for GP customers “to celebrate with the company.”
“As the operator with the largest number of subscribers we felt that we have the most people to celebrate with us. Welcome to the biggest party ever,” said the GP CMO.
The 1st GP subscriber and the 50 millionth customer, who were both present at the event, were also awarded special commemorative plaques.
In line with the company’s customer-centered drive, GP had launched its “Customer First” initiative, including the introduction of a mobile application for employees to empower them to better serve as the organization’s brand ambassadors.
GP continues to explore new avenues to improve dialogue with customers and best meet their needs.
Starting its operations on March 26, 1997, the Independence Day of Bangladesh, GP has the largest network with the widest coverage in the country.
Recently it has become the first operator to bring all the country’s 64 districts under its 3G network on the way of fulfilling its ambition of “Internet for all”.
The GP network has more than 8,600 base stations, covering 99 percent of the country’s population of 153 million.
As the largest mobile operator and a frontrunner in mobile internet in Bangladesh, the company officials say it has taken the aspiration to provide internet services at the most reasonable rate and to devise a significant role by enhancing the life of the users.
GP was set up by 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus in March 1997.