1.INTRODUCTION

History of the telecommunication Industry in Bangladesh:

In a highly populated country like Bangladesh, telecommunication can play a vital role to boost the economy and social level of people. The introduction of cellular phones has dramatically changed the lives of businesses and individuals. As there is a growing trend of workers turning from farming to other occupations, the need for mobiles is increasing among the thousands of impoverished villages. The overall efficiency of other business has increased as an aftermath of the government's decision of deregulating the telecommunications sector, which until the late 1980s had been a state monopoly.

Privatization of the telecommunications sector began in 1989, when Sheba and BRTA were awarded 25-year licenses to install and operate fixed-wire lines and wireless services in rural areas. The same year, Pacific Telecom Bangladesh got the government's permission to launch the country's first cellular phone and paging service sold under brand name CityCell in collaboration with a Hong Kong-based company. The company targeted only the higher class of the society. During that time price of mobile was above Tk 50,000/=. Naturally, the growth of the industry was too slow. CityCell had a virtual monopoly until 1996, when the government gave licenses to three more companies to operate cell phones in Bangladesh. So, the government decided to bring more companies in the market and break the monopoly.After careful evaluation the government decided to provide three licenses to GrameenPhone, TM International (Robi), and Sheba Telecom (Banglalink). Only CityCell is using Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, Robi, GrameenPhone, Banglalink these three companies are using GSM (Global System for Mobile) technology. GSM is the most popular mobile telecommunication technology in the world. About 60% of