Mahmudul Hasan

A sharp rise in Bangla QR transactions since July has raised concerns among industry insiders, including mobile financial service providers, who suspect that a portion of the surge may be driven by fake or suspicious payments rather than genuine purchases.

For decades, telecom operators built their businesses around one basic product -- connectivity. They first sold voice calls, then gradually turned mobile data into a much larger source of revenue as smartphones and mobile internet transformed how people communicate, work and consume digital services.

The government plans to cut the minimum local ownership requirement for mobile operators to 10 percent from 15 percent, according to the latest draft of the Telecommunications Network and Licensing Policy.

Users can spend up to Tk 50,000 a year on smartphones, other devices and eligible services

With Bangladesh’s startup ecosystem facing its worst funding drought in more than a decade, the government and banks have launched several new initiatives to provide cash-strapped entrepreneurs with fresh sources of capital.

Grameenphone, Robi and Banglalink had a combined 14.68 million 5G-capable handsets on their networks in July

Banglalink has sought regulatory approval to commercially launch a satellite-to-mobile service that will allow smartphones to connect directly to satellites, enabling it to offer connectivity in remote and hard-to-reach areas.

The latest application follows an earlier initiative by Banglalink and SpaceX to test satellite-to-mobile connectivity in Bangladesh