Banglalink seeks new number series 010
Banglalink has applied for an additional number series -- 010 -- for its new connections, as it has already used up 80 percent of its existing capacity in the 019 series.
In a letter to the telecom regulator, Banglalink, the second largest operator, said its two main competitors in the market have already received two number series, which gives them a competitive advantage from a marketing perspective.
After several requests from Grameenphone, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission on August 28 decided to allow the market leader to use a new number series, 013, as its existing 017 prefix is almost full.
The telecom watchdog also tagged some conditions to it, like resolving a long standing audit issue and two other minor issues.
Grameenphone applied for an additional number series early last year, based on projections that their new connection sales would fully be suspended after November this year.
Mobile operator Robi is also about to merge with fourth largest operator Airtel; the merged company will also use two number series -- 018 and 016 -- which will also give them extra facilities, said the letter.
"Two operators are in the process of being in a position to offer numbers from two different number series each to the market," Banglalink said in the letter.
As the number still plays a role in attracting customers, especially high-value corporate customers, the ability to offer a wider range of numbers gives an operator a considerable competitive advantage, Banglalink said. Not being on a level-playing field in this regard will put Banglalink in a disadvantageous position in the market, according to the letter.
After allocating 013 to Grameenphone, there are three other numbers series left -- 010, 012 and 014 -- according to the National Numbering Plan that has ten prefixes for mobile operators.
Among the current operators, Citycell is using the 011 series, Teletalk 015, Airtel 016, Grameenphone 017 and Robi 018.
Mobile numbers were already expanded twice, by a digit each time. Earlier, there were nine digits and now there are 11 digits. Banglalink started its operations in 2005 and as of July, the operators' active connections were 3.14 crore, while their total sales reached around eight crore as of June.
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