Historical Background

Grameenphone started its journey with the Village Phone program: a pioneering
initiative to empower rural women of Bangladesh. The name Grameenphone
translates to Rural phone. Starting its operations on March 26, 1997, the
Independence

Day

of

Bangladesh,

Grameenphone

has

come

long

way.

Grameenphone pioneered the then breakthrough initiative of mobile to mobile

telephony and became the first and only operator to cover 98% of the countrys
people with network. Since its inception Grameenphone has built the largest cellular
network in the country with over 8500 base stations. Presently, nearly 99 percent of
the country's population is within the coverage area of the Grameenphone network.
Grameenphone has always been a pioneer in introducing new products and services
in the local telecom market. GP was the first company to introduce GSM technology
in Bangladesh when it launched its services in March 1997 and was also the first
telecommunication operator in Bangladesh to introduce the pre-paid service in
September 1999. It established the first 24-hour Call Center, introduced valueadded services such as VMS, SMS, fax and data transmission services, international
roaming service, WAP, SMS-based push-pull services, EDGE, personal ring back tone
and many other products and services. In October 2013 the company launched 3G
services commercially. The entire Grameenphone network is 3G/EDGE/GPRS
enabled, allowing access to high-speed Internet and data services from anywhere
within the coverage area. There are currently over 7 million 3G/EDGE/GPRS users in
the Grameenphone network. Today, Grameenphone is the leading and largest
telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh with more than 47.64 million
subscribers as of January 2015.

Product Profile
Xplore Postpaid product in a brand and exciting new way with an aim of
delighting all existing Xplore subscribers and the upcoming generation of postpaid
users, GP has not only made a change in the tariff plan of this product but has also
introduced other new unique offers for it.

Nishchinto

is

Grameenphone.

the

default

Every

new

Consumer
consumer

prepaid

prepaid

price

plan

connection

is

offered
a

from

Nishchinto

connection. It gives one the opportunity to make any local voice calls, with a call
rate of 15 paisa per 10 second. New Connection Price: BDT 188.

Bondhu: This package with the highest number of F&F numbers, allows one to talk
to ones near and dear ones at the lowest rate. With 10 second pulse facility, this is
the only Consumer prepaid package offered by Grameenphone that gives one the
privilege of calling to 1 GP-GP Super F&F at only 5 paisa/ 10 second. In addition, 14
(maximum) any operator F&F are available at 10 paisa/ 10 second.

Amontron is an attractive price plan from Grameenphone which gives one the
opportunity to talk to any other operator at a call rate of 11paisa/10 second (24
hours) and One GP-GP Super F&F at 5 Paisa/10 Second (24 hours).

Spondon is the new attractive price plan from Grameenphone which gives one the
opportunity to Pay only as much as one will talk. This is the only consumer prepaid
package offered by Grameenphone that gives one the privilege of calling at any
local numbers with 1 second pulse facility at a flat tariff (24 hours) of 2.05
Paisa/Second.

SMILE prepaid is the connection now gives one more freedom, more
opportunities and more reasons to smile! With 10 second pulse facility, talk to all of
oner Grameenphone friends at 11.5 paisa and 15 paisa per 10 second in the special
hours and also speak with 3 GP-GP F&F numbers at only 11 paisa/ 10 second.

Djuice price plan from Grameenphone Ltd. is designed with the youth in mind.
GP Services, in addition, during off-peak (12am-8am) hours, one can talk to any
GP or other operator number at only 20 paisa/ 10 second. Besides, if one are text &
tech savvy, one can satisfy oner thirst by sending SMS(djuice-djuice/GP) & MMS
(djuice-djuice/GP) at only BDT 0.49!!Grameenphone Ltd. has a very innovative
service called MY ZONE. Under this service, any prepaid customer of GP can enjoy
up to 86% discount in their call rate. To discover the benefits of this service please
switch ON the Cell Info Display of owner handset and register. Grameenphone 3G
services can be used in all types of devices (Smartphone, tablet & modem) as long
as the device itself is 3G enabled.

Mobile service, Call Block, Friends & Family, Missed Call Alert, MMS, Voice Mail
Service, Pay For Me, Balance Transfer, Vehicle Tracking, Voice SMS, International
SMS, International MMS, E-bill, Facebook SMS , Mobile Twitting, Quick Search, GP
APP - Mobile Self Service, Buddy Tr3. Market Status

Market Status
GP has been the market leader at a stretch for more than a decade. The mobile
telecommunication industry had 97.48million subscribers in November2012of which
GP has 40.24million (41.3%), Banglalink has 26.21million subscriber (26.9%) and
ROBIs subscriber base stood at 21.12million (21.7%). Other 10% market share is
held three operators Airtel (6.94million), Citycell (1.60million) and Teletalk
(1.37million). Total addition from December2011 to July 2015 is around 9.26 million
subscribers which indicate a rising trend in mobile penetration. The present
subscriber base and leading position of GP in the market indicates that the
customers perceived GP well and shows its ability develop/support revenue, and
bring innovation in products and services development.

Business Level Strategies

Using product features or services GP is distinguishing the firms offering from its
competitors. Some product features are Apon, Bondhu, Djuice, Xplore, Business
Solution, Internet SIM, Public Phone, Village Phone etc. To increase market share by
expanding the network, The company was successfully listed in November 2009which was the largest IPO in the history of the Bangladesh capital market.
Grameenphones

focus

is

on

efficiency,

quality,

innovation,

and

customer

responsiveness. Their main focus on after sales service thats why for the first time
they introduce 24 hours Helpline and many GPC with the motto, We are Here to
help.
Gps Human Resources and People management procedure is so much powerful
rather than the other telecom companies, which are helping the company to
achieve the first place. Under Grameenphone there are more than 5000 Employees
working all over the country.
Grameenphone (The company of Telenor group) is using multi-domestic strategies
because it expanded its telecom business under different countries with different
name. Such as: Grameenphone in Bangladesh, Uninor in India, Telenor in Pakistan,
Norway, Hungary, Digi in Malaysia, dtac in Thailand ets.
Its also follows transnational strategies, like Telenor group provide different
strategies for different countries depend on the people demands. So Grameenphone

segmented our Bangladesh market depending on what people actually need,

thats why they invented different types of SIM, package plan, internet options and
Handset for BD people.

Trends of Performance
The year 2014 was ended by Grameenphone with 47.1 million subscription base
having 41% market share. Grameenphone continued with its aggressive acquisition
and added 7.1 million subscribers to its subscription base.
Grameenphone managed a solid top line growth in 2014 amidst intense
competition, unprecedented political and macroeconomic challenges and regulatory
directives on 10-second pulse tariff structure. Introducing simpler and attractive
price plans, user friendly innovative offers and impressive growth in non mobile
revenues have been the key points behind the revenue growth. In addition, data
revenue is expected to grow further with the successful launching of 3G in Q413.
One-off tax adjustment for increased corporate tax rate from 35% to 40% has led
the net profit after taxes to decrease by 16%. However, profit before tax increased
by 9% with positive impact of the gain from sale of GPIT and foreign exchange gain.

Subscriptions
In 2013 total subscription base was 40 million. Subscription base reached 47.1
million at the end of 2014. Active internet users increased to 4.6 million from 3.3
million in 2014. In a competitive market, GP managed to retain its subscriber
market leadership with 41% share.

Revenue
Revenue increased by 5.1% (BDT 470 corers). Political unrest and regulatory tariff
directives implemented from September 2013 led a slowdown in revenue growth
compared to previous years. In 2014, revenue growth was driven by subscription
growth and contributions from device sales. Wholesale business and mobile
financial service also had considerable contribution in yearly revenue growth.
Impressive 17% growth in data revenues driven by low-cost mini-pack and highspeed 3G packages.

Net Profit after Taxes

In 2014, GP had to recognize BDT 399 crores as one-off tax adjustment for the
period of 2013 due to increased corporate tax rate from 35% to 40%. Due to the

above reason, despite BDT 266 crores higher profit before tax, net profit after tax
for 2014 decreased by 16% (BDT 280 crores) compared to 2013.

SWOT Analysis
Strengths

Weakness

Good Owner Structure

Mixture of different cultures is used as an

Availability of Backbone Network (Optical excuse

fiber)

not to solve problems

Too much inside out thinking in the

Financial Soundness

company.

Market Leader

Different

Brand Name / Grameen Image

departments

not

together.

Skilled Human Resource

Poor interconnection with BTTB.

Largest Geographical Coverage

Complicated price structure.

Highest

and

advanced

service provider

value

working

added

Billing

System

cant

handle

sophisticated billing.

Opportunities

Threats

Economic growth of Bangladesh

More rigid government regulations

New

and

better

interconnection More influence of competitors on the

agreement

fixed network

Huge need for telecom services

Devaluation of Taka

Increased

intentional

activities

in Non-co-operation of government and

Bangladesh

fixed PSTN (Public Service Telephone

Declining prices for handsets

Network)

Future

privatization

of

the

fixed

Price war

network

BTTB

has

limited

New international gateway

interconnections

capacity

for

Demand for inter-city communication

Possible Measure to Improve Performance

Grameenphones sale has increased in a substantial amount in 2013. But also it has
to ensure sustainable growth in it. In the data we see that sales are increasing year
by year. But this increase is not too much. Basically sustainable growth in sales can
earn ensure more contribution to their revenue. If GrameenPhone increase their
current assets and fixed assets both their total assets will also increase. So they
have succeeded to increase their total assets till now and it is very important for the
company. As Grameenphone focus more on it network upgradation, what I think is
very important for the company. Day by day customers are becoming more quality
oriented. And to ensure that Grameenphone do need a constant focus on it network
upgradation. As a responsible corporate citizen, GP has continued to invest for
common good of the society. In 2013, the Company has integrated its technological
expertise with social projects to bring positive changes in the life of general people
ensuring better sustainability. Its a very positive sign for the company so they do
need to focus more on this CSR part for ensuring better stakeholders experience.

Concluding Remarks
GrameenPhone is one of the largest multinational companies of Bangladesh. They
earn lots of profit from their business. It has invested more than BDT 17,093 crore to

build the network infrastructure since its inception in 1997. Grameenphone is also
one of the largest taxpayers in the country, having contributed more than BDT
24,517 crore in direct and indirect taxes to the Government Exchequer over the
years and its a huge contribution to our GDP. However, regardless of its size, it
performs very well all over of its organization.