Grameenphone: Making Communications Services More Accessible

Operating in a market with an ARPU of just two U.S. dollars per month is challenging in and of itself, let alone with five competitors to rival in the market. Yet Grameenphone is flourishing with sustain growth and consistent market leadership, as the Telenor member is the dominant mobile carrier in the Bangladesh market. Its CTO, Tanveer Mohammad, recently shared his time exclusively with WinWin to discuss the operator’s secrets to cost-effective network operations and, more importantly, its initiatives to bridge the digital divide.

According to Tanveer Mohammad, Grameenphone is trying to make telecommunications services much more accessible to the people of Bangladesh. “We introduce community information centers, where people from the villages can have access to Internet, and they can even have video chats with their dearest ones living abroad. Recently, we have tried to encourage Internet usage in the schools. We carried out a program named i-gen, which means Internet genius. We created some Internet-based competition using mobile phones among the students of the villages and rural areas, so the stigma attached to using the Internet is gradually being removed and huge eagerness has been created among the youth population as they become more Internet-savvy. We are also trying to bring down the prices of smartphones by partnering with vendors such as Huawei, as many of our subscribers are still using feature phones to access the Internet. With smartphones, they can enjoy much better apps.”

By Michael Huang

Operating in a market with an ARPU of just two U.S. dollars per month is challenging in and of itself, let alone with five competitors to rival in the market. Yet Grameenphone is flourishing with sustain growth and consistent market leadership, as the Telenor member is the dominant mobile carrier in the Bangladesh market. Its CTO, Tanveer Mohammad, recently shared his time exclusively with WinWin to discuss the operator’s secrets to cost-effective network operations and, more importantly, its initiatives to bridge the digital divide.

The future-ready operator

WinWin: When we spoke with Grameenphone (2011) last, you were swapping your radio access network. With this finished, would you care to comment?

Tanveer Mohammad: The swap project we undertook together with Huawei has been accomplished and it has been a very good, successful story. We swapped the whole radio and core network for both voice and data services, which helped us fully prepare for the future. In addition, network optimization has become easier with adaptation of a simpler network architecture and most importantly, we have brought in enhanced efficiency into our network by reducing the energy consumption nearly by 50%, which gives us a competitive edge in the crowded Bangladesh telecom market.

In parallel, we are also upgrading other network layers based on market needs, including the IP backhaul, transmission, and business support system (BSS). We have upgraded our DWDM backbone network and the last-mile hybrid microwave deployment is ongoing, with Huawei’s involvement in both the scope.

WinWin: What unique technology or network features would you say set Grameenphone apart from your competitors?

Tanveer Mohammad: The unique feature we have right now is future-readiness. We have already upgraded our radio access network, and our core is 3G-ready; so even 4G introduction will be easier. We are also in a very strong position in terms of energy efficiency, which is key to operating cost-efficiently in a low-APRU market such as Bangladesh; on the energy front, Grameenphone is now considered a center of excellence for the whole Telenor group.

We have also introduced VAMOS (Voice services over Adaptive Multi-user Orthogonal Sub-channels) and quarter-rate technologies into our network, in addition to some other innovations such as six-sector virtualization. All these new features enable our radio network accommodate more traffic and boast higher spectrum efficiency. With this future-readiness, we can move ahead whenever new technologies are to be adopted..

WinWin: Site sharing has become a common practice in rural Bangladesh. Would you please share some of your experiences about this?

Tanveer Mohammad: Actually, when the site sharing issue came, there was some resistance as it definitely involved some competition issues, but actually it brings much more efficiency into the whole value chain of our telecom business which is increasingly recognized by all the stakeholders.

We started with the passive infrastructure by sharing quite a large number of base stations, mainly the towers, shelters, and in many cases, the power. This has created a new source of revenue for Grameenphone and the long-term sustainability has steadily increased. The previous swap was also facilitate site sharing since the modernization could significantly reduce the footprint of our equipment, leaving much more space to share with others.

Energy is a scarce resource in Bangladesh, and we don’t have enough electricity to meet the demand of the country. Network modernization has also helped us save electricity and given us a better position to share it with our peers. But, as a whole, the network sharing is mainly on the passive part; in the future, maybe gradually, active sharing will come into the scene as well.

Better communications access

WinWin: Non-voice services are contributing increased revenue to Grameenphone. What new trends and opportunities have you discovered? How are you going to capture them?

Tanveer Mohammad: Voice is still the dominant revenue stream in our market, but data revenue is increasing gradually, with some 30% year-on-year growth on our network. Value-added services are still not so strong; however, with the education level of the country increasing, more content is expected to come and more value-added services will be included in our portfolio.

We are trying to involve the whole community for service development. We have launched some open APIs and encouraged local students to develop apps for using a competition framework so that the best applications can be launched on our networks. We have introduced some distance-education/e-medicine schemes into our country, through which good teachers/doctors from Dhaka can help students/patients in rural areas through the Internet.

All these, however, are based on 2G, and its limited bandwidth has greatly impaired user experience. With 3G coming soon, it will be much easier for us to further explore the VAS area, and we will continue to engage with students and young developers to come up with an exciting product portfolio.

WinWin: Can you describe some services that are unique to your local market? How does Grameenphone promote service innovations within the organization?

Tanveer Mohammad: We are operating in a very difficult market and innovation does not always come. But at the same time, when there are not enough developed services, introducing something new may also be easy. Actually, we try to make telecommunications services much more accessible to the people of Bangladesh. We introduce community information centers, where people from the villages can have access to Internet, and they can even have video chats with their dearest ones living abroad.

Recently, we have tried to encourage Internet usage in the schools. We carried out a program named i-gen, which means Internet genius. We created some Internet-based competition using mobile phones among the students of the villages and rural areas, so the stigma attached to using the Internet is gradually being removed and huge eagerness has been created among the youth population as they become more Internet-savvy. We are also trying to bring down the prices of smartphones by partnering with vendors such as Huawei, as many of our subscribers are still using feature phones to access the Internet. With smartphones, they can enjoy much better apps.

WinWin: With non-voice services increasing, how do you picture the data traffic growth in your network? What is your approach towards ensuring QoS and QoE for data service?

Tanveer Mohammad: We are now seeing at least a 30% year-on-year increase of data traffic in our 2G network, and a phenomenal growth can be expected once 3G and other advanced technologies are introduced. We are now already struggling to meet user expectations, and going forward it will be more challenging.

We have a strong team that continually monitors all QoS statistics and performs drive testing. In 2012, we carried out more that 3,000 kilometers of drive testing all over the country. We not only measure our own network, but also try to benchmark our competitors. Through very close monitoring, customer feedback, and statistical study, we have secured Grameenphone’s main strength in quality positioning. We will also try to introduce a customer experience management solution in the near future, with some trials already carried out in Dhaka.

Harnessing potential

WinWin: 2G networks in general can no longer offer superior data services. How would you plan your 2G network evolution? What will be the most cost-effective solution?

Tanveer Mohammad: We do not expect a compete migration from 2G to 3G. There will be 3G introduction into our network, but 2G will still be there in the large part of the country. 3G will better serve the hotspot areas with high demand, but 2G/3G will coexist for some time in other areas in the future.

We have already got our core network 3G-ready and the SingleRAN solution in place. When 3G license is awarded to us, we can insert 3G modules and upgrade the relevant software to enable 3G services. We will also gradually improve our transmission facilities during 3G operations.

WinWin: How will you meet the demand for mobile Internet over the next two to three years, and what’s your take on the competition with OTT players?

Tanveer Mohammad: In Bangladesh, there are only about 4% of Internet users using fixed connections, and huge potential exists for introducing mobile Internet into the country. We are looking for unified broadband solutions to meet future growth including 3G that will deliver good mobility and enhanced user experience. By partnering with fixed operators, we can offer fixed broadband solutions for large-screen operations. In addition, we will also offload some 3G traffic through Wi-Fi at the hotspot areas. So in this unified approach, we are trying to meet the mobile Internet demands of the country.

We have been hearing about OTT competition for quite some time, yet I think both the Internet service providers and mobile operators will grow together. The mobile operators have their unique strengths, including their subscriber base and their phone numbers as unique IDs; the question is how to secure mobile operators’ part in the value chain without hampering customer benefits. Telecom vendors are also upgrading their solution offerings such as flexible policy management in the charging system. Altogether, mobile operators will be able to find their own way out.

WinWin: How would you describe Huawei as a partner, and what do you see for the future?

Tanveer Mohammad: I think so far it has been a very exciting journey together. We swapped our radio access networks in 2011, and we are reaping the benefits now. But during the swap, there were also very difficult times, yet instead of blaming each other, together we tried to find the solutions, and this helped us build the strongest part of our partnership. This team spirit is also needed to overcome the challenges coming ahead.

In addition, we have to understand the market as well. In Bangladesh, the margin per subscriber is low, but the total volume will give good business potential for both Grameenphone and Huawei. Also considering the country’s relatively low mobile penetration of around 60%, there are still a lot of areas for further growth, but this requires both parties to work together for cost effective and affordable solutions.