GP test-launches 3G in Bashundhara

Mobile operator Grameenphone yesterday launched its 3G services or wireless internet broadband on a test basis for the customers of Bashundhara residential area in the capital.Grameenphone has initially offered the services to its employees and a select group of customers to receive feedback from them ahead of the commercial launch, the operator said in a statement.“As announced previosly, Grameenphone plans to launch commercial 3G services by early October for selected areas of Dhaka and Chittagong.”All divisional cities will be covered by December, while the 64 district towns will come under the network by the end of the first quarter of 2014.Telecom Minister Shahara Khatun, Telenor President and Chief Executive Officer Jon Fredrik Baksaas and Grameenphone CEO Vivek Sood jointly launched the services at the operator’s head office in Bashundhara.The minister made a video call to Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Mahmud Hossain to experience the services.Shahara said, “I hope Grameen-phone will reach 3G services to the masses the way it had taken mobile telephony to the people of the country.”She also called upon the operator to provide 3G services at affordable prices in the rural areas.Baksaas said, “Grameenphone has been a long-term contributor to the development of Bangladesh through its 16 years of operation. With 3G, Grameenphone is taking an important step in its mission to help the country move ahead by providing the opportunities of internet access for all Bangladeshis.”Baksaas also thanked the government, saying the 3G spectrum auction was conducted in a transparent way.Grameenphone, the largest operator with 4.47 crore users, bought 10 MHz of spectrum in the auction on September 8.In the statement, the operator also said it will roll out the nationwide 3G network, which will actually have the capacity of 3.9G technologies.