Robi, the country's third largest mobile operator after Grameenphone and Banglalink, yesterday introduced simplified roaming rates for 100 countries, with a single rate for each country.

The operator also announced daily data roaming packs for 72 countries at a press briefing at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka.

International roaming service allows people to use the same mobile number both at home and abroad.

With the growing economy, a large number of Bangladeshis are travelling abroad for business, tourism and medical purposes, said Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, chief operating officer of Robi.

“We have simplified our roaming service by allowing the clients to choose any operator in any of the 100 countries with a single rate for each country.”

“We are confident that our subscribers will find our unique service offering the best solution for their increasingly mobile lifestyle,” he said.

“It is true that such emerging services like Viber, WhatsApp and Skype are a threat to the telecom industry, but these are yet to become significant for the local market,” Ahmed said, replying to a query on the use of these apps.

Viber, WhatsApp or Skype can be used for regular voice communication anywhere through the internet.