1.

Introduction:
1.1 Origin of the Report
Human history provokes the communication as a very important event in regular life of the
people. Since than to make communication easier people has been working on it and finally in
the present we see the birth of the initial maneuver and that is the wireless telecommunication.
Bangladesh is not far away from such technological involvements, compared with the rest of the
world, and has seen a rapid boom in the mobile industry. Within the last nine years, the user
base of mobile phones has skyrocketed to massive proportions.

There are currently five competitors in the industry, namely, Grameen Phone, AKTEL, CityCell,
Banglalink and Teletalk. Pacific Telecom introduced cellular telephones in Bangladesh using
AMPS technology in early nineties. Initially a monopoly, they charged very high for their
connections and were affordable to upper-upper segment of Dhaka and Chittagong. Their
network was also limited to this Dhaka-Chittagong region. They are still remembered by many
for their initial overcharging. In those days, they became a symbol of affluence. 3 years later,
Grameen Phone and TMIB came up with GSM technology and soon Sheba Telecom followed
suit with WLL technology.

Presently it can be definitely assumed that, the market for mobile telephones in Bangladesh is
by any scale, promising. For mobile operators, at least two things are worth to be born in mind.
Firstly, the core product itself is a highly technical service, so brand-image and noticeable
product features are needed to differentiate the product. Secondly, a recent study indicated that
awareness level of the target market is extremely high. Almost everyone who can operate and
afford a cell phone knows about the service and also the name of top two operators. So, for top
two players, the game is to generate as much trial as possible by converting non-users. Since the
market has just started to approach the mass segment, new market penetration seems to be the
least expensive strategy.

1.2 Objective
Broad Objective: To give a very competitive and customer demanding package for the SME
segment.
Specific Objectives:
 To understand the nature of the SME segment.
 Understand the talking habit of SME.
 To define the package in appropriate value for money.
 To find the most potential and untapped market for the mobile operators.

Potential of SME Market for the mobile operators in Bangladesh 1

1.3 Scope
This report covers the overall market situation and the SME market demand for the operators
and how the 3 operators except GP and Bangla Link can achieve the biggest business
opportunity. It also shows the comparative analysis of all the operators. Although the existing
two market player for SME in well groove but still they can follow it to improve the target in
future.

1.4 Methodology
Report was conducted on the basis of secondary information and the market research done by
third parties and the market visit done by the Aktel SME team. Information was collected from
relevant papers and documents provided by the Marketing and other divisions, publications of
different organizations, daily Telecom news provided by market research department. The steps
that can be taken are-
a. Identifying the required data category and relevant sources
b. Collecting the secondary data from the respective sources
c. Compiling the data and analyzing them by using necessary tools and software
d. Making conclusions and recommendations

1.5 Limitation
Some limitation can be mentioned which may have to be faced during the preparation of the
report, which are-
 As the approach of the study and research was decided by the Marketing division of Aktel,
there was some lacking in the market research and consumer survey method and approach.
 Another limitation of this report is the lack of organized data
 The limited scope of primary data restricted the fulfillment of some additional enrichment
of the findings
 Sometimes the decisions were come from the top during the internship program, so there
was little chance to do some innovative and self-willing works.

Potential of SME Market for the mobile operators in Bangladesh 2