Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) says BTRC has given final approval to two mobile phone operators, Robi and Airtel, to merge their businesses. Reported Bdnews24.com is one of the leading news outlets in the country.

According to the newspaper, BTRC chairman Shahjahan Mahmood on Tuesday said, “Final approval has been given to the merger of Robi and Airtel in today’s commission meeting.”

As a result, the door to merger was opened for these two operators by paying the fees and charges fixed by the government authorities.

As you may recall, earlier in January this year, Robi Axiata Limited (Robi) and Airtel Bangladesh Limited (Airtel) merged to merge. Completes the contract. The agreement was signed in late January 2016, after the two companies’ parent companies, Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) and Bharti Airtel Limited (Bharati) announced the start of discussions on the possibility of consolidating business activities in Bangladesh.

Different After going through the legal process The two companies finally received final approval to merge. It is expected that this process will be completed by December 2018.

According to earlier reports, after the merger, the merged entity of the two companies will conduct business under the name Robi and the number of customers of the merged entity will stand at around 4 crore.

Robi + Airtel = Robi

The execution of the agreement will result in a restructuring of the share capital and in which Axiata will control 7.3% of the consolidated entity. Bharati, on the other hand, will hold 25 per cent and the remaining 7.6 per cent will be held by the current other shareholder, NTT DoCoMo of Japan.

In a press release in January, I would like to recall what has been said about the rationale for merging the two mobile companies and the consolidation of transactions:

• This integration will bring a better customer experience and more choice opportunities by strengthening the competitive environment.
• The integration will ensure the widest possible network coverage and better mobile internet service experience for 40 million subscribers.
• Sales and marketing services can be extended to a wider area through the most comprehensive sales and marketing channels and in collaboration with the largest number of customer service centers across the country.
• By relying on the power of a huge number of 40 million subscribers, customers will be able to make calls on their own network (on-net) at low cost.
• Ensuring the availability of internet connection across Bangladesh and consolidating the activities of the two companies will make it possible to deliver more affordable mobile services.

Robi Axiata Limited is a joint venture between Axiata Group Berhad, Malaysia and NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan. Robi Axiata Formerly known as Telecom Malaysia International (Bangladesh). It started its journey in Bangladesh in 1996 as Actel brand. On March 26, 2010, the service became known as the ‘Robi’ brand, and the company became known as Robi Axiata Limited. And Airtel Bangladesh Limited The owner is Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel, which bought Warid Telecom’s business in Bangladesh.