Bangladesh Grameen Telecom

Bangladesh: Grameen Telecom Presented to-:V.Subramanyam Presented by-:Anurag Ashish Yadav Ashwani Maurya Atul Pratap Singh L1S2-sec-C

Agenda         

Introduction Business model Foundation Infrastructure Human capacity Policy Enterprise Content Conclusion

Introduction: Grameen Telecom’s village phones 

Grameen Phone is a commercial operation providing cellular services in both urban and rural areas of Bangladesh, with approximately 40,000 customers.

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A pilot programmed of Grameen Phone, through the Grameen Bank and a wholly owned subsidiary called Grameen Telecom.

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It is enabling women members of the Grameen Bank’s revolving credit system to retail cellular phone services in rural areas.

Foundation 

Grameen Phone is a commercial operation providing cellular services in both urban and rural areas of Bangladesh.

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founded by three visionaries: 1- Iqbal Quadir, an investment analyst who saw the role that telecommunications connectivity can play in poverty reduction

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2- Partnership with Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank

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3- Khalid Shams, Deputy M. D. of the Grameen Bank

Business Model 

Telephones in the Grameen Telecom Village Phone programme bring in 3 times as much revenue as urban cellular phones.

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GSM cell phone technology is a high-cost solution for universal access in rural areas.

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Revenues per phone of $93 a month in March 2001,twice as much as GP’s urban mobile phones.

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Rural phones represent less than 2% of phones on GP’s network and bring in only 8% of total revenue.

Infrastructure 

Bangladesh’s 65,000 villages by 2000,but only 4543 in March,2001.

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Primary constraint-BTTB

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Second constraint- WLL by Sheba and BRTA

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GSM-5 kilometers and WLL -50 kilometers and better bandwidth at a lower cost.

Map of GrameenPhone Coverage

Human Capacity 

According to Grameen Bank staff, out of the 2,300,000 Grameen Bank borrowers in Bangladesh, 95% are women who lack any collateral to borrow money from conventional banks.

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82% of the Grameen Bank member phone users were recorded as women

facility 

Electricity - Widespread access to electricity in rural Bangladesh enables the phone operator to recharge batteries or power the phone

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Solar power

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Call Charges & Profit – Grameen Phone charges Grameen Telecom Tk.2 ($.043 USD) per minute for a local call at peak hours, whereas urban GP subscribers pay Tk.4 ($.086) per minute. For NWD (national) and ISD (international)

Policy 

Bangladesh’s telecom regulatory regime is both antiquated and anti-competitive.

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Scarcity forces Bangladeshis to pay large sums both legal and illegal.

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When BTTB launches its own GSM mobile network became disadvantage to GP.

Enterprise 

Credit and bill collection services provided by Grameen Bank and the infrastructure and urban network provided by Grameen Phone.

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Discount by 50% the rate charged to GT for a phone call.

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Competitor in rural BRTA and Sheba.

Content 

The Average consumer savings for a phone call from a village to Dhaka ranges from 2.6% to 9.8% of the user’s mean monthly household income

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Most important function of village phone is to facilitate remittances from relatives

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Local business people and farmers use it to reduce cost, get better prices for their products.

Conclusion Grameen telecoms village phones might already serve all of Bangladesh 65000 rural villages. The high revenue generated by the shared axes business model suggest how powerful market drivers of such approach can be and as a development centered If strategies the village phone program promises board development benefits including enhanced productivity and social welfare and new sources of rural income