Citycell
Encyclopedia
Citycell is the first mobile communications company of Bangladesh
. It is the only CDMA network operator in the country. As of 1 March 2008, Citycell's total mobile subscriber base is 1.56 million, up 137 per cent or 680,000 from two years ago, giving it the best growth rate of the company till date. Citycell is currently owned by Singtel with 45% stake and the rest 55% owned by Pacific Group and Far East Telecom.
By the end of 2007 Citycell had refurbished its old brand identity and introduced a new logo and corporate identity; the new logo is very reminiscent of the old logo. However the slogan has remained unchanged "because we care"
As of July, 2008 Citycell has 1.67 million subscribers.
In 1989 Bangladesh Telecom Limited (BTL) was awarded a license to operate cellular, paging, and other wireless communication networks. Then in 1990 Hutchison Bangladesh Telecom Limited (HBTL) was incorporated in Bangladesh as a joint venture between BTL and Hutchison Telecommunications (Bangladesh) Limited. HBTL began commercial operation in Dhaka using the AMPS mobile technology in 1993 and became the 1st cellular operator in South Asia. Later that year Pacific Motors bought 50% of BTL. By 1996 HBTL was renamed as Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL) and launched the brand name "Citycell Digital" to market its cellular products.
+88 011 N1N2N3N4N5N6N7N8
where, 880 is the International Subscriber Dialling
Code for Bangladesh and is needed only in case of dialing from outside Bangladesh.
11 is the prefix for Citycell as allocated by the government of Bangladesh.
Omitting +880 will require to use 0 in place of it instead to represent local call, hence 011 is the general prefix.
The number N1 to N8 is the subscriber number.
's are usually sold with a phone mostly cheap Chinese sets produced by ZTE
, Huawei
, Samsung
, Motorola
and Alcatel
. Citycell currently has the cheapest phone+connection tariff at 1399 taka.
and Citycell that lets pre-paid account holders top up their phone through SMS anytime, without the need to visit any store or purchase any minutes. This service is being offered free-of-charge and it is the first service of its type in Bangladesh.
After receiving the SMS, Citycell automatically withdraws the desired amount from the bank account instantly. It is not known if the service is applicable for post-paid users.
Recently in Int. Tread fair 2009, Citycell Introduced a new postpaid service called VOICE-DATA plan with cheaper tariff voice call and sms on any operator and BTTB (NWD) and 0.25 Tk/minute voice call and sms on any Citycell Number.
to surf the web where ever the Citycell network is present. Customers have a choice of Citycell Zoom and Citycell Zoom Ultra. Zoom comes with a choice of prepaid or postpaid. Zoom comes with either one of two models, Huawei EC321 or ZTE MG880+. Zoom Ultra uses better technology particularly it uses EV-DO
technology. ZTE
Ultra Modem AC2726 is the dongle given with Zoom Ultra.
Citycell Zoom along with Grameenphone's version of this technology are regarded as the best in the portable internet service section in Bangladesh.
Market Share : ≈4.5%
Market Penetration : ≈1.1%
*Data - Q2 2008
was reshuffled. A new CEO, Mehboob Chowdhury was brought in as well as a COO, David Lee. In February Chowdhury took office. He is an experienced executive, as he has had involvement with Aktel (now Robi), Warid, Banglalink (Chief Commercial Officer 2005-2006) and Grameenphone (Director of Sales and Marketing 1998-2005)
for its involvement in illegal VoIP or international call termination.
Citycell's involvement in illegal VoIP, was discovered in May 2007 during a raid in the company's Mohakhali office by the BTRC.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. It is the only CDMA network operator in the country. As of 1 March 2008, Citycell's total mobile subscriber base is 1.56 million, up 137 per cent or 680,000 from two years ago, giving it the best growth rate of the company till date. Citycell is currently owned by Singtel with 45% stake and the rest 55% owned by Pacific Group and Far East Telecom.
By the end of 2007 Citycell had refurbished its old brand identity and introduced a new logo and corporate identity; the new logo is very reminiscent of the old logo. However the slogan has remained unchanged "because we care"
As of July, 2008 Citycell has 1.67 million subscribers.
History
Numbering Scheme
Citycell uses the following numbering scheme for its subscribers:+88 011 N1N2N3N4N5N6N7N8
where, 880 is the International Subscriber Dialling
International Subscriber Dialling
International direct dialing or international subscriber dialing is the process of an international telephone call being placed by the caller rather than by an operator. The term international subscriber dialing was used in the United Kingdom and Australia until the terminology was changed to...
Code for Bangladesh and is needed only in case of dialing from outside Bangladesh.
11 is the prefix for Citycell as allocated by the government of Bangladesh.
Omitting +880 will require to use 0 in place of it instead to represent local call, hence 011 is the general prefix.
The number N1 to N8 is the subscriber number.
Products Offered
Citycell offers prepaid, postpaid and fixed phone plans. Since Citycell operates in CDMA, RIMRim
Rim may refer to:* Rim , the sharp circular edge which surrounds the coin design* Rim , the part of a crater that extends above the height of the local surface...
's are usually sold with a phone mostly cheap Chinese sets produced by ZTE
ZTE
ZTE Corporation formerly Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation is a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company headquartered in Shenzhen, China...
, Huawei
Huawei
Huawei is a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China...
, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
and Alcatel
Alcatel
Alcatel Mobile Phones is a brand of mobile handsets. It was established in 2004 as a joint venture between Alcatel-Lucent of France and TCL Communication of China....
. Citycell currently has the cheapest phone+connection tariff at 1399 taka.
Prepaid
The current only prepaid plan is branded as Citycell One. Citycell started offering prepaid plans from 2003. It was the first to offer a prepaid plan with BTTB connectivity in the same year. In 2005, it launched the Aalap Call Me plan- the first phone plan with negative tariff in the country. In this plan customers get credit added to their balance when they receive calls from other Citycell subscribers. In the same year, Citycell launched Aalap Super plan. Subscribers of this plan could make free calls to other Citycell subcribers during late night hours. This espoused numerous copycat products from its competitors. Later that year the national telecoms regulator ordered all phone companies to cease offering free call facility. In 2006, Citycell launched Hello 0123 plan. The name 0123 signified tariff of Tk 0 for calls to one Citycell number of the subcriber's choice, Tk 1 for calls to two other Citycell numbers, Tk 2 for calls to all other Citycell numbers and Tk 3 for calls to all other networks. This plan was followed up with a string of other spinoff plans that continued into 2007.Instant Load
As advertised in June 2008, Citycell became the first mobile operator to sign up for Instant Load. Instant Load is a joint effort from Dutch Bangla BankDutch Bangla Bank
Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited is a scheduled joint venture commercial bank between local Bangladeshi parties spearheaded by M Sahabuddin Ahmed and the Dutch company FMO...
and Citycell that lets pre-paid account holders top up their phone through SMS anytime, without the need to visit any store or purchase any minutes. This service is being offered free-of-charge and it is the first service of its type in Bangladesh.
After receiving the SMS, Citycell automatically withdraws the desired amount from the bank account instantly. It is not known if the service is applicable for post-paid users.
Postpaid
The postpaid plan is branded as Citycell One. The Postpaid subscribers enjoy 4 FnF numbers to other operators, 30 sec pulse applicable for all outgoing, Zoom Data service etc. in additional.Recently in Int. Tread fair 2009, Citycell Introduced a new postpaid service called VOICE-DATA plan with cheaper tariff voice call and sms on any operator and BTTB (NWD) and 0.25 Tk/minute voice call and sms on any Citycell Number.
Citycell Zoom
Citycell Zoom is a data plan where the customer receives an internet dongleDongle
A software protection dongle is a small piece of hardware that plugs into an electrical connector on a computer and serves as an electronic "key" for a piece of software; the program will only run when the dongle is plugged in...
to surf the web where ever the Citycell network is present. Customers have a choice of Citycell Zoom and Citycell Zoom Ultra. Zoom comes with a choice of prepaid or postpaid. Zoom comes with either one of two models, Huawei EC321 or ZTE MG880+. Zoom Ultra uses better technology particularly it uses EV-DO
Evolution-Data Optimized
Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data only is a telecommunications standard for the wireless transmission of data through radio signals, typically for broadband Internet access...
technology. ZTE
ZTE
ZTE Corporation formerly Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation is a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company headquartered in Shenzhen, China...
Ultra Modem AC2726 is the dongle given with Zoom Ultra.
Citycell Zoom along with Grameenphone's version of this technology are regarded as the best in the portable internet service section in Bangladesh.
Customer Care Center
There are 6 Customer care centers of Citycell in the country. One for each division and there are another 500 Customer care Points scattered around the country.Performance
World operator rank by connections : 258thMarket Share : ≈4.5%
Market Penetration : ≈1.1%
*Data - Q2 2008
2010 Reshuffle
In early 2010 Citycell's senior managementSenior management
Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...
was reshuffled. A new CEO, Mehboob Chowdhury was brought in as well as a COO, David Lee. In February Chowdhury took office. He is an experienced executive, as he has had involvement with Aktel (now Robi), Warid, Banglalink (Chief Commercial Officer 2005-2006) and Grameenphone (Director of Sales and Marketing 1998-2005)
Criticism and Penalty
Citycell, has been fined Tk. 1.5 billion by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory CommissionBangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is an independent commission founded under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001...
for its involvement in illegal VoIP or international call termination.
Citycell's involvement in illegal VoIP, was discovered in May 2007 during a raid in the company's Mohakhali office by the BTRC.