New number series ‘013’ for GP

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) yesterday approved a new number series ‘013’ for Grameenphone in addition to the existing ‘017’ series.

The approval came at a meeting of the commission following the application of Grameenphone, the leading mobile phone operator of the country, claiming its existing 017 series was coming to an end. 
A BTRC official, however, told The Independent that the mobile phone operator has been allowed the new number series of 013 with their existing 017 prefix. But, the operator has to comply with some conditions for this. 
The official said the issues like spectrum and significant market power (SMP) were also discussed in the meeting. But, the operator was given permission to launch the new series of 013 considering all aspects.
Grameenphone applied for an additional number series for its new connections as projected sales suggest the existing ‘017’ prefix could be exhausted as early as November this year. With the new prefix, the operator would be able to issue a further 10 crore connections if the BTRC agrees to it.
As of June, the operator has 5.7 crore active subscribers out of the country's total of 13.09 crore. However, it has not revealed the actual number of SIM cards sold.
The National Numbering Plan has ten prefixes for mobile operators, of which 010, 012, 013 and 014 are still free.
Among the other operators, Teletalk is using 015 series, Airtel 016, Robi 018 and Banglalink 019. 
The number series of the country’s mobile phone operators starts with the 01 prefix as per the National Numbering Plan. Each number prefix allows an operator to sell 10 crore connections with an 11-digit number.
As per the NNP, currently there is an option for allowing maximum 10 number series for mobile phone operators of which six are in use.

New number series 013 for GP

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) yesterday approved a new number series 013 for Grameenphone in addition to the existing 017 series. The approval came at a meeting of the commission following the application of Grameenphone, the leading mobile phone operator of the country, claiming its existing 017 series was coming to an end. A BTRC official, however, told The Independent that the mobile phone operator has been allowed the new number series of 013 with their existing 017 prefix. But, the operator has to comply with some conditions for this. The official said the issues like spectrum and significant market power (SMP) were also discussed in the meeting. But, the operator was given permission to launch the new series of 013 considering all aspects. Grameenphone applied for an additional number series for its new connections as projected sales suggest the existing 017 prefix could be exhausted as early as November this year. With the new prefix, the operator would be able to issue a further 10 crore connections if the BTRC agrees to it. As of June, the operator has 5.7 crore active subscribers out of the countrys total of 13.09 crore. However, it has not revealed the actual number of SIM cards sold. The National Numbering Plan has ten prefixes for mobile operators, of which 010, 012, 013 and 014 are still free. Among the other operators, Teletalk is using 015 series, Airtel 016, Robi 018 and Banglalink 019. The number series of the countrys mobile phone operators starts with the 01 prefix as per the National Numbering Plan. Each number prefix allows an operator to sell 10 crore connections with an 11-digit number. As per the NNP, currently there is an option for allowing maximum 10 number series for mobile phone operators of which six are in use.