Corporate
JCI Dhaka Entrepreneurs’ Organizes Successful Day-Out and General Members Meet
JCI Dhaka Entrepreneurs, a prominent local organization in JCI Bangladesh dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and community development, successfully orchestrated an engaging full-day program and General Members Meeting (GMM) at the scenic Green Tech Resort & Conversation Centre on 3rd June in Gazipur.
The event attracted enthusiastic participation from JCI Dhaka Entrepreneurs’ members and esteemed guests, including Senator Arefeen Raafi Ahmed, a former Local President of JCI Dhaka Entrepreneurs and the current National Vice President at JCI Bangladesh. Distinguished guests also included members from various local chapters, such as the Members of the National Governing Body (NGB) of JCI Bangladesh and Local Presidents (LPs).
Throughout the program, attendees had the invaluable opportunity to network, exchange ideas, and glean insights from seasoned entrepreneurs and industry experts. The event served as a catalyst for innovative thinking, facilitating the sharing of experiences and fostering valuable connections. This environment nurtured growth and success among the participants.
“We are extremely delighted to have organized such an outstanding event,” expressed Md Navid Arefin Khan, the Local President of JCI Dhaka Entrepreneurs. “The day-long program offered our members and guests an enriching experience while fostering opportunities for meaningful collaborations. We firmly believe that by nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit, we can actively contribute to building stronger communities and a brighter future.”
The successful execution of the event was made possible through the dedicated efforts of all the general members of JCI Dhaka Entrepreneurs and the unwavering support of their chapter mentor, Senator Altamis Nabil, who is also the National Vice President. Their commitment to excellence ensured the resounding success of the program, leaving a lasting impact on all participants.
Nurul Hasnat Ove, the Local Secretary General of JCI Dhaka Entrepreneurs, expressed deep appreciation towards the members of JCI Dhaka Entrepreneurs and other esteemed individuals for their steadfast commitment, as well as to all attendees whose contributions led to the resounding success of the event. The active engagement and unwavering enthusiasm of the participants fostered an inspiring and collaborative atmosphere.
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.
ICT Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak announced that mobile internet services will be restored from 3pm today (28 July). Additionally, all users will receive a 5GB internet bonus, valid for the next three days. The minister conveyed this information during a media briefing following a meeting between the Information and Communication Technology Division, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), and the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh.
“It would take a couple more days to restore the internet if people were to be returned the remaining volume of their data packs which were lapsed during the internet blockout, that is why we decided to allot 5GB bonus for everyone,” said Minister Palak. He also expressed regret for the inconvenience caused by the internet service disruption.
Regarding social media platform restrictions, Palak stated that letters were sent to Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms on 28 July, with a response deadline of 30 July. The letter highlighted non-compliance with the country’s constitution and laws. Palak mentioned, “They have removed very few of the contents we asked them to delete. While extremists’ pages remain active, they have taken down 50 pages supported by the Awami League.”
Updates on social media restoration will be provided on 31 July. Palak cautioned against using VPNs, citing security risks.
During the briefing, Secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division Dr. Muhammad Mushfiqur Rahman, and BTRC Chairman Engineer Mohiuddin Ahmed were also present. The meeting included participants such as the National Telecommunication Monitoring Center’s DG, CEOs and CTOs of Mobile Financial Services like bKash, Nagad, Rocket, and Upay, as well as mobile operators Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink, and Teletalk.
Minister Palak previously stated that the internet disruption was not intentional but was caused by the burning of three data centers and hundreds of kilometers of cables, resulting in a Tk500 crore loss for the telecom sector alone. He added that there were attacks at 17 locations in Dhaka Division, with Mohakhali’s data centers housing 18 IIG systems, which host 70% of ISP servers.
