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Robi (company)

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Robi Axiata PLC
Native name
রবি আজিয়াটা পিএলসি
FormerlyAKTEL
Company typePublic subsidiary
IndustryMobile telecommunication services
Predecessor
Founded15 November 1997; 27 years ago (1997-11-15)
FounderA.M. Zahiruddin Khan[1]
HeadquartersRobi Corporate Office (NEW), The Forum, 187-188/B, Bir Uttam Mir Shawkat Sarak, Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Area served
Bangladesh
Key people
  • Rajeev Sethi (CEO)
Services
RevenueIncreaseUS$910 million (2020)
IncreaseUS$20 million (2020)
OwnerAxiata (61.82%)
Bharti Airtel (Bharati Enterprises of India) (28.18%)
Public holds (10%)
Members58.34 million
(Q1 2024)
Websitewww.robi.com.bd
Footnotes / references
[2][3][4][5]

Robi Axiata PLC. (d/b/a Robi) is the second largest mobile network operator in Bangladesh.[6] Axiata of Malaysia holds a major controlling stake of 61.82% in the company, while Bharti Airtel of India holds 28.18% and investors in DSE and CSE hold 10%.[7] Robi first commenced operation in 1997 as Telekom Malaysia International (Bangladesh) with the brand name ‘AKTEL’. In 2010, the company was re-branded to ‘Robi’ and the company changed its name to Robi Axiata Limited. As per government rule, the name changed to Robi Axiata PLC in 2024 as Robi is listed in Stock Market and a Public Limited Company. Robi Axiata has spectrum on GSM 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands. On 16 November 2016, Airtel Bangladesh was merged into Robi as a product brand of Robi, where Robi Axiata PLC is the licensee of Airtel brand only in Bangladesh. Having successfully completed the merger process, Robi has emerged as the second largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh.[8]

History

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Robi Axiata PLC started as a joint venture company between Telekom Malaysia and AK Khan and Company. It was formerly known as Telekom Malaysia International Bangladesh Limited which commenced operations in Bangladesh in 1997 with the brand name 'AKTEL'.[9] In 2007, AK Khan and Company exited the business by selling its 30% stake to Japan's NTT Docomo for US$350 million.[10]

In 2009, then AKTEL, now Robi Axiata, was the first operator to introduce GPRS and 3.5G services in the country.[11]

On 28 March 2010, 'AKTEL' was rebranded as 'Robi' which means "sun" in Bengali. It also took the logo of parent company Axiata Group which itself also went through a major rebranding in 2009.[12] In 2013, after five years of presence, Docomo reduced its ownership to 8% for Axiata to take 92%.[13]

On 28 January 2016, it was announced that Robi Axiata and Airtel Bangladesh will merge in Q1 2016. The combined entity will be called Robi, to serve about 40 million subscribers combined by both networks. Axiata Group will own 68.3% share, while Bharti Group will own 25%, and NTT Docomo held 6.31% shares.[14][15] Finally Robi and Airtel were merged on 16 November 2016 and Robi set sail as the merged company.[16] Later on, in 2020, after a decade with Robi, NTT Docomo decided to leave Bangladesh by selling its remaining stake in Robi Axiata PLC to Bharti International.

In August 2021, CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed stepped down as Robi CEO.[17] Company CFO M Riyaaz Rasheed stepped in as acting CEO in addition to his current duties.[18][19]

Mobile network operator Robi Axiata PLC has appointed Rajeev Sethi as the company’s chief executive officer from October 2022. He will be replacing M Riyaaz Rasheed, who has been serving as Robi’s acting chief executive officer since August 2021.[20]

Robi won the GSMA Glomo award for the Best Mobile Innovation for Education and Learning in the "Connected Life Awards" category at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017, is highly noteworthy.[21]

Numbering scheme

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Robi 4G SIM card. Both sides of the SIM card are presented together.

Robi uses the following numbering scheme for its subscribers:

+880 18 NNNNNNNN (ROBI brand)

+880 16 NNNNNNNN (AIRTEL brand)

Where, +880 is the International subscriber dialing code for Bangladesh.

18 and 16 is the access code for Robi as assigned by the Government of Bangladesh. Omitting +88 will require to use 0 in place of it instead to represent local call, hence 018 and 016 is the general access code.

N1N2N3N4N5N6N7N8 is the subscriber number.

After merger with Airtel, besides '018', Robi owns '016' number series too.

In 2018, when Mobile number portability was introduced users can port to any operator without changing its number.[22][23]

Network

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Robi is currently the second largest mobile operator in Bangladesh in terms of total number of mobile towers or BTS. As of August 2024, Robi has a total of 18,473 Mobile Network Tower or BTS across the country.[24]

Spectrums

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The Robi/Airtel network is also GPRS/EDGE/3G-enabled, with a growing 4G network, allowing internet access within its coverage area. its Total spectrum volume is 124.00 MHz, 104.00 MHz is currently being used by Robi/Airtel, the remaining 20 MHz will be added from June 2025.

Frequencies used on ROBI/AIRTEL Network in Bangladesh:

Band: 8/900 MHz, Total Frequency: 09 MHz, Width: EDGE/LTE/LTE-A, Protocol: 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC,6CC

Band: 3/ 1800 MHz, Total Frequency: 20 MHz, Width: EDGE/LTE/LTE-A, Protocol: 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC,6CC

Band: 1/ 2100 MHz, Total Frequency: 15 MHz, Width: LTE/LTE-A, Protocol: 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC,6CC

Band: 41/ 2600 MHz, Total Frequency: 60+20 MHz, Width: LTE/LTE-A, Protocol: 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC,6CC

Services

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Binge

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Binge
Type of businessSubsidiary
Type of site
OTT streaming platform
Available inBangla
HeadquartersGulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Country of originBangladesh
Area servedWorldwide
OwnerRobi Axiata
IndustryTech & Entertainment
Products
Services
  • Film production
  • Film distribution
  • Television production
  • Television distribution
ParentRobi Axiata
URLbinge.buzz
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedMay 21, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-05-21)
Current statusActive

Binge is a Bangladeshi subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming platform and original programming production company. It is owned by RedDot Digital via subsidiary of Robi Axiata.[25] It was launched on 21 May 2020 through a Facebook event.[26] The platform primarily offers and distributes live television channels, series and films licensed to Binge, as Binge Originals. The service also hosting content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events.[27]

Binge stepped into international market on 25 June 2021 by launching it's service in Malaysia with the co-operation of Celcom.[28] In March 2022, Binge expanded it's availability to more than 120 countries.[29] Currently operating worldwide, Binge has both free and premium subscription options.

At the very beginning, Robi Axiata had decided to use Wowza's Streaming Engine but later they designed a streaming platform that can work with the Streaming Engine and could be configured for best performance. On 21 May 2020, the streaming platform launched by the name, "Binge".[30]

Binge is being made of combining IPTV and digital entertainment services into a single online streaming site.[31] This is the first Bangladeshi Google-certified online video streaming service that can be used on any Android device, including phones and televisions.[31][32][33]

Content

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Binge mainly focuses on Bangla language content. They have two categories of contents: premium and free respectively. To watch premium, content subscription is required.[34]

Binge is available now from more than120 countries around the world. Binge has come up with two subscription plans for global audience. Users can avail of the service both in monthly and yearly subscription plans.[29][35]

Subsequently, it has logged in 1 lakh subscriptions in just over three months.[32]

Binge is maintained by RedDot Digital currently in partnership with Genex Infosys.[33] Binge Android smart device and streaming platform- both were developed by Genex Infosys.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Daily Star Web Edition Vol. 5 Num 299". Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Robi-Airtel". 29 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Robi makes Tk 170m profit in 2019". Prothom Alo English. 22 February 2020. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Press Release on Telecom Subscription Data as on December, 2019". Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  5. ^ "The Rise of Robi: Second Largest Telecom Operator in Bangladesh -". 24 April 2021. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Bangladeshi OTT platform Binge set to rock Malaysia". Barta24. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Company Profile - Robi".
  8. ^ "Robi Axiata: Building an OTT service from scratch". 23 February 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  9. ^ Hasan, Mahmudul (15 November 2022). "25 years of operation: GP on a roll, Robi yet to find strong footing". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  10. ^ "NTT DoCoMo to buy 30pc stake in AKTEL for $350m". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. ^ "Aktel launches GPRS". Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Aktel turns into Robi, takes a new logo". Dhaka Mirror. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. ^ "Bengali OTT Platforms for Watching Movies, Web Series, Musical Shows". UNB. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Robi's Binge available in 120-plus countries". UNB. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Axiata and Bharti Airtel Agree to Merge Operations in Bangladesh". Axiata. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  16. ^ "Robi sets sail as the Merged Company". Robi. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  17. ^ "Mahtab Uddin Ahmed steps down as Robi CEO". Dhaka Tribune. 5 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Mahtab Ahmed steps down as Robi MD after 5 years". bdnews24.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Mahtab Uddin Ahmed steps down as Robi CEO". Dhaka Tribune. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Rajeev Sethi joins Robi Axiata as CEO". Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Robi-10 Minute School wins prestigious Glomo Awards 2017 at the Mobile World Congress". Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Everything you need to know about Mobile Number Portability". 8 October 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Switch to any operator". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). 30 September 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  24. ^ ""Parbe Tumio"- Robi Celebrates Resilience of The People of Bangladesh". Robi Official Website. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  25. ^ "বিঞ্জ । টিভি'তে ব্র্যান্ড-নিউ লুক". www.robi.com.bd. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  26. ^ "Digital entertainment platform 'Binge' starts its journey". The Business Standard. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  27. ^ "Watch Original Web Series | Live TV | Foreign Drama | Sports I Blockbuster Movies". binge.buzz. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  28. ^ "Bangladeshi OTT platform Binge set to rock Malaysia". Barta24. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  29. ^ a b "Robi's Binge available now in more than 120 countries". Dhaka Tribune. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Robi Axiata: Building an OTT service from scratch". 23 February 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  31. ^ a b "Vicky Zahed's First Web Series 'Silence' to Hit Binge this February". UNB. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  32. ^ a b c Hasan, Mahmudul (1 September 2020). "Binge, Bangladesh's first IPTV, diving deep into Bengali original video content". The Daily Star. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  33. ^ a b Islam, Muhammad Zahidul (20 May 2020). "Robi subsidiary brings the future of video entertainment to Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  34. ^ "Bengali OTT Platforms for Watching Movies, Web Series, Musical Shows". UNB. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  35. ^ "Robi's Binge available in 120-plus countries". UNB. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
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