Correspondent To witness the deep and diverse historical culture and the latest achievements of high-quality development, the seven-day “International Insights into China” event was held with the theme of “Towards Openness and Integration of the New Era”. The event was held in various cities in China’s autonomous region of Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi Province between October 13 and 19. Media reporters and international students from different countries, including Bangladesh, participated in it.

This event is guided by the Cyberspace Administration of China’s Network Communication Bureau and jointly co-hosted by the Cyberspace Administration of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Cyberspace Administration of Shanxi Province, and China Daily Newspaper.

During the event, the delegation members visited the Inner Mongolia Museum, Yili Modern Smart Health Valley, Mengcao Seed Industry Center, Grassland Cloud Valley, Huawei Cloud Service Data Center, Qisumu Railway International Logistics Park, Huayan Temple, Hanging Temple and Yungang Grottoes, and Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. They have immersed themselves in the profound and diverse historical and cultural charm of Inner Mongolia and Shanxi, and witnessed the latest achievements of high-quality development. During the activities, the delegation members used their unique “outside eyes” perspective, lenses, and pens to show the world the beautiful picture of cultural inheritance and innovative development in Inner Mongolia and Shanxi and tell the extraordinary story of the local practice of Chinese-style modernization.

The journey began on 13 Oct, and on Oct 14, they explored the Inner Mongolia Museum in Hohhot, where the city’s grassland culture and historical heritage. From Oct 15 to 16, the delegation visited Inner Mongolia’s Ulaanqab City, also known as the “Prairie Technology Valley”, where the Huawei Cloud Data Center, a core area of Inner Mongolia’s big data industry, left a lasting impression on the delegation. The second half of their journey was devoted to Shanxi province. From Oct 16 to 19, they visited iconic tourist sites, such as the Huayan Temple, Nine-Dragon Wall, Hanging Temple, Yungang Grottoes in Datong City, and the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda in Shuozhou City.

Bayasgalan Lkhagvadulam from Mongolia, after climbing the Hanging Temple, said it is marvelling. It’s hard to imagine how people built this temple on the cliff 1,500 years ago. It’s awe-inspiring. If you are interested in ancient architecture, I highly recommend visiting Shanxi to see it yourself.

A group of 20 foreign media journalists, experts, and international students from different countries and regions, including Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia, participated in this event.

The bdapps community gathered for a momentous occasion at the “bdapps Connect: Engage & Innovate 2024 – Top Developers Meet & Greet,” held at the Robi Axiata Ltd. Head Office. The event united leading developers from the bdapps ecosystem for a day brimming with insightful discussions, interactive activities, and valuable networking opportunities.

The event was graced by prominent leaders from Robi Axiata Ltd., including Shihab Ahmad, Chief Commercial Officer; Shafiq Shamsur Razzaq, General Manager – Digital VAS & New Business; and Fatema Nashrah, Manager. Md. Altamis Nabil, Business & Engagement Lead at bdapps, along with key members of the bdapps admin team, were also present to engage with the developer community.

Adding star power to the gathering, renowned content creator and entrepreneur Rafayat Rakib, Founder of Digital Dropouts and Official Trainer & Mentor at Fiverr, attended as a special guest. He enthralled the audience by sharing his inspiring entrepreneurial journey, offering valuable industry insights, and motivating developers to expand their entrepreneurial horizons.

A key highlight of the event was the engaging activities, where the top developers were divided into teams to participate in interactive games and brainstorming sessions. The teams competed in an “App Idea Generation Competition,” where they showcased their creativity by pitching innovative app ideas aimed at solving real-world problems. The competition encouraged teamwork and highlighted the developers’ ingenuity. The best-performing team and standout individuals were recognized with exclusive prizes from bdapps, making the event a memorable experience for all participants.

The program concluded on a high note with an inspiring speech by Shihab Ahmad, who praised the developers for their pivotal role in transforming bdapps into a thriving hub of innovation. He acknowledged their contributions and encouraged them to continue driving forward. Additionally, Shafiq Shamsur Razzaq emphasized the importance of collaboration and ongoing learning to foster a future-ready digital community.

“bdapps Connect: Engage & Innovate 2024” successfully celebrated the achievements of the developer community while motivating them to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation in the digital space.

bdapps, a local app store and API hub, enables content providers and application developers to monetize their apps. With more than 50,000 developers working on the platform, bdapps is a flourishing ecosystem that continues to drive digital innovation and entrepreneurship.

Pacific Bangladesh Telecom, the first mobile phone operator in the country, seeks to relaunch Citycell.

The company has recently applied to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to reclaim its licence and spectrum.

In 2016, the BTRC shut down Citycell’s operations on the grounds of a decline in subscribers and failure to pay outstanding dues. Later, in October 2023, the regulatory body officially cancelled Citycell’s licence and spectrum. At the time of its closure, Citycell, the country’s only CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology operator, had around 15,000 subscribers.

However, in its recent review application letter, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom stated that BTRC’s order to cancel Citycell’s licence was illegal.

Pacific Bangladesh Telecom in the application, signed by its head of regulatory and corporate affairs Nishat Ali Khan, argued that Citycell was excluded from various technological upgrades, including spectrum allocation, due to political decisions by the then government.

Despite paying all fees, new claims of outstanding dues were raised unjustifiably, it said. Ultimately, the operation was shut down citing a decrease in subscribers, even though Citycell had an annual turnover of over Tk200 crore before the closure, said the company.

Nishat told the news reporter that they plan to return to court, deeming BTRC’s cancellation of Citycell’s licence illegal while the case concerning outstanding dues is still ongoing in court.

“We have applied to the BTRC to get the licence back, and we will also appeal to the court in the future,” he said.

In the letter, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom stated that at the time of Citycell’s shutdown, the company held 8.82 GB of spectrum and had 850 towers. The closure left 1,000 employees unemployed overnight.

It also claimed to have fully paid all types of fees, including VAT and taxes. As a result of the shutdown, the company said it incurred debts amounting to Tk4,000 crore. If Citycell had remained operational, it could have generated at least Tk2,000 crore in revenue during the period until now.

The letter mentioned that BTRC’s claim of Tk218 crore in outstanding dues, which led to the cancellation of Citycell’s licence, was incorrect. The company argued that although the BTRC demanded the amount for 10 GB of spectrum, Citycell was actually allocated 8.5 GB of spectrum. Therefore, the claim lacked justification, it said, adding that the matter of outstanding dues was already being contested in court.

When asked why it did not approach the court at the time against BTRC’s decision, Nishat said, “The cancellation of Citycell’s licence was a political decision by the government. The court would not have ruled against the government’s decision. That’s why we did not file a petition in court back then.”

When asked whether it would be possible to relaunch Citycell with its significant debt if BTRC reinstated the licence, Nishat responded that despite the shutdown, the company has not defaulted on any bank loans.

Citycell eyes transition to GSM technology

He further said that if the licence is restored, the owners are prepared to transition Citycell from CDMA to GSM technology to resume operations.

Asked by the news reporter, Aminul Haque, acting chairman of the BTRC, declined to comment on the receipt of the letter or the matter of returning the licence.

On 9 September 2022, all spectrum allocated to Citycell and the Radio Communication Equipment Licence was cancelled on 7 August of the same year. Subsequently, on 15 September 2023, the BTRC cancelled Citycell’s 2G service licence.

According to officials concerned, during the tenure of President Hussain Muhammad Ershad, Citycell was granted a licence in 1989. The service was launched jointly by Hong Kong-based Hutchison and Bangladesh Telecom Limited. They used analogue mobile technology. The mobile service was highly expensive and not accessible to the general public.

When the BNP came to power, in 1993, the domestic industrial group Pacific Motors and Far East Telecom acquired a 55% stake in Citycell. Of the stake, Pacific Motors held 37.95% and Far East Telecom held 17.51%. The remaining 44.54% of the shares were owned by Singtel, a Singapore-based telecommunications provider. The head of Pacific Motors is former foreign minister and BNP leader M Morshed Khan.

Before Grameenphone acquired its licence in November 1996, Citycell was the sole mobile operator in the country.