Introduction

Successful companies study their competitors as closely as they do their customers. Analyzing and evaluating competition helps management decide where to compete and how to position against the competition in each market margin. The changing patterns of global competition require continuous analysis of competing forces. Business and marketing strategies need to take advantage of opportunities and to avoid threats. Market leaders and competitors cannot fulfill their executive role unless customer needs and desires are understood and satisfied.

Telecom Industry in Bangladesh

The introduction of telecommunication industry has been pretty late in our country compared to that of the neighboring countries. This is very much attributable to the political unrest in early 1990s. The telecommunication sector was until early 1989 the sole monopoly of the public sector corporation known as Bangladesh Telecommunications Limited (BTCL). It was the only provider of telecommunication network services in the country. Though the first telecom company, Citycell, was introduced ages ago, the device has not become so pervasive until 1997, the year when the biggest telecom of the country, GrameenPhone (GP) hit the market with its GSM technology. Since then there was no looking back.

Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Transmission Network (NTTN)Nationwide Telecommunication (BWA) Broadband Wireless Access Gateway (IGW) Information of International Interconnection Exchange (ICX) (IIG) International Internet Gateway International Terrestrial cables (ITC) operators International Submarine Cable Operator (BSCCL) Mobile Operator Mobile Subscriber Land Phone Land Phone Subscriber Telecom Revenue Tele Density International incoming calls VAS Provider Figure: Overview of Bangladesh Telecommunication Industry

01 02 02 25 24 35 06 01 06 98.293 million 08 1 Million 2.85 Billion 47.8 % 4.50 core min/ day 30

The industry grew at such an incredible rate in just a decade that anyone could hardly imagine. Now there are a number of players battling so hard for their respective market share and the consumers as

well as the economy benefitted tremendously from this fierce competition. Domestic interconnection calls are operated through Interconnection Exchange Licensees (ICX), while international interconnection calls are operated through International Gateway Licensees (IGW). For each outgoing call, operators will have to pay BDT 0.22 per minute (of which BDT 0.18 is payable to other operators and BDT 0.04 to ICXs), and will receive BDT 0.18 per minute for each incoming call, irrespective of peak and off-peak hours. Voice tariff levels are defined by a tariff circuit set by BTRC along with specific directives on promotions.

Figure: Bangladesh Telecommunication Network Topology

Figure: Telecom Operators Market Share in Bangladesh

The Telecom market of Bangladesh & Michel Porters 5 forces

Porter's five forces model has the ability to determine the competitiveness of a market. According to Porter, the collective strength of five major forces determines the ultimate profit potential of the industry. Strategy should be formulated in such a way that the company can defend itself against these forces or influence them in its favor.High competition in mobile or telecommunication sector in our country is one of the main problems. If we have a look in the primary stage of our telecom sector, we had only city cell and Grameen phone and they were operating their business in own way. They took the first mover advantages but when Banglalink, Robi, Teletalk, Airtel come to compete in the market then the market became more competitive and still there exist a high competition in this sector.

Operator Name Grameen Phone Ltd. (GP) Orascom Telecom Bangladesh Limited (Banglalink) Robi Axiata Limited (Robi) Airtel Bangladesh Limited (Airtel) Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (Citycell) Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd. (Teletalk) Total Figure: Mobile Phone Subscribers in Bangladesh

Active Subscribers (Millions) 40.687 26.62 21.117 6.878 1.624 1.368 98.293

As a least developed or developing country Bangladesh has a poor economic background where a major portion of our people are living under the poverty line. So it is difficult to operate such type of business in Bangladesh with making a remarkable profit. Different types of political violence, pressure of army, corruption and many more problems make our country instable and also has made this sector insecure. If we have a look last few year our democracy had face many ups and downs, as we dont have any foreign direct investment (FDI) in any of the sector. As the economic condition is not good of Bangladesh, the telecommunication sector is not able to make profit. Moreover they are to pay high corporate tax which is 40% to 45%. It is another major problem or challenge to operate challenging day by day. In case of technological perspective, Bangladesh is not good enough. So mobile phone operators is to transfer or import technologies, handsets and other equipments related to the telecommunication and for this they are to pay 35% import tax on it. It is also a great problem for this sector to make profit and survive in the market. The presence of six competitors makes high competition. Supplier power is low as there is available telecom supplier. The presence of 6 competitors in the

market makes high availability of substitute & competition as entry barrier is also low because of their high investment & easy entry policy. Since licenses must be acquired from BTRC, and BTRC reserves the right to issue licenses when and to whom they see fit, entry is relatively restricted at the moment on the government regulatory fronts. In Bangladesh mobile telecom industry, substitutes exist in the form of government land lines and some upcoming PSTN operators. Some additional substitutes include wireless Internet providers such as WiMax based companies, Bangla Lion and Augere, which has been desperately marketing its brand Qubee since its entry to the market. However, it is safe to say that no direct, competitive substitutes exist at the present moment that can pose a threat to the industry.

Market forces Entry barrier Competitive Rivalry Threat of Substitute product Power of buyer Power of supplier

Challenges Low High Moderate High Low

Figure: summary of the porters five forces compare with the telecom industry in Bangladesh In Bangladesh telecom industry, there are already 6 giant companies trying to find their niche. It has been clearly noticed that as the market is growing, proportionately all the companies are getting new subscribers depending their nation wise coverage. So, it is assumed that if even the bargaining power of customer seems to be high due to high growth rate of market each company is somehow getting benefited. Bargaining power of supplier is low as there are lot of telecom supplier is available like Huawei, Nokia-Siemens, Ericson, and NEC. But the supply market is strictly dominated by Huawei and it already acquires the biggest supply market share for their reliability and responsiveness. In Bangladesh Cellular telecom industry the customers have absolute bargaining power. Because there are a number of operators in the market, the cost for switching loyalty is very low. Customers may want to switch from one operator to another for a better deal. Nothing can restrict this trend. In fact what we see is that every customer nowadays uses more than one mobile phone or at least owns more than one connection, and use them interchangeably. This trend is especially very dominant among the teenagers who constitute a major portion of the market share, and on the other hand are also very sensitive to price. This phenomenon of subscribing to more than one operator, needless to say, has sparked a boom for another kind of mobile hand set that enables customers to use dual SIMS in one handset.

Role of Competitors
Market Leader:
The company (GP) used to enjoy almost a monopoly until and unless the threat was created by other competitors. Grameenphone plays the role of market leader in Mobile telecom Industry in Bangladesh. It has the largest market share i.e. 43%. Grameenphone leads other companies in price changes, new package introduction, distribution coverage and promotional intensity.

Market Leader Strategies

For a firm to gain a competitive advantage, it must have superior core competencies that are relevant in the marketplace. Core competencies are resources and capabilities that the firm utilizes in an exceptional manner- in comparison to its competitors- to gain a competitive advantage. Network has always been a strong point for GP and seen as the best network by the mobile phone users in Bangladesh. To retain this position, GP has upgraded its entire network with future proof technology. The modernized network is ready for facilitating 3G technology and broadband services. As of December 2011, GPs network covered 99% of Bangladeshs population and 90% of the total land area, and the network infrastructure included more than 13,000 base stations located in about 7,200 sites in operation around the country.

Expanding the Total Market

GP has positioned in Bangladesh with Stay Close slogan, creating a differentiated image of the quality and reach of its network. Grameenphone is a leading firm normally gains the most when the total market expands. They are expanding the market by creating new users, new technology and new offers. They are expending the market by discovering and promoting new uses for the product. Package like djuice attracts the young people more due to its low call rate, free sms services etc. Package like bondhu offers the highest number of F&Fs that allows the user to talk to his/her near and dear ones at the lowest rate. This increases the amount and frequency of consumption.

Defending Market Share

While trying to expand total market size, GP also have to protect its current business against competitors attacks. To protect the position GP is doing the following things. First it prevents or fix weakness that provides opportunities for competitors. It always works tirelessly to keep strong relationships to valued customers. GP refuses to be content with the way things are and leads the industry in new products, customer services, and distribution effectiveness. It keeps increasing its competitive effectiveness and value to customers.

 Position defense: GP has positioned in Bangladesh with Stay Close slogan, creating a differentiated image of the quality and reach of its network. Grameenphone has already been succeeded in building a superior brand power by differentiating its product and providing better services than the competitors which made the brand almost impregnable. This brand reputation is valuable, as it provides meaningful differentiation to its competitors, and has directly contributed to higher levels of customer satisfaction. Flank Defense: Grameenphone is always attacked by low priced competitors. GP brings new low price packages of different categories by keeping the existing one to defend against such competitors. Counter offensive defense: Like most market leaders, Grameenphone also respond with a counterattack when they are attacked. This has been seen in many situations that Grameenphone meets the attacker frontally and hits its flank. Mobile Defense: In mobile defense the leader stretches its domain over new territories that they can serve as future centers for defense and offense through market broadening and market diversification. Grameenphone always involve in market research and try to serve their customer with many value added services.

Expanding Market Share

Innovation in products and services is one of the core competencies of GP. In the products and services side, the Company introduced My Zone, first of its kind in Bangladesh, which offers discount on call tariff depending on customers location. GP always strives to provide quality services to its valued subscribers. Grameenphone established a Customer Experience Lab, which is helping the Company to gain valuable customer insight about its products and services

Market Challenger
When banglalink entered the Bangladesh telecom industry in February 2005, the scenario changed overnight with mobile telephony becoming an extremely useful and affordable communication tool for people across all segments. Within one year of operation, banglalink became the fastest growing mobile operator of the country with a growth rate of 257%. This milestone was achieved with innovative and attractive products and services targeting the different market segments; aggressive improvement of network quality and dedicated customer care; and effective communication that emotionally connected customers with banglalink. 28% of the market is in the hand of Banglalink which always aims to increase the market share. Hence, Banglalink plays the role of market challenger in the industry.

Market Challenger Strategies

Banglalink has very often been seen challenging the market leader and other firms of its own size or small firms in an aggressive bid for more market share. They first define the market leader and their strategies and then attack the market leader. This is a high risk but potentially high gain strategy that makes good sense if the leader is not serving the market well. As a market challenger Banglalink adopt different attacking strategies which involve: Frontal Attack: Banglalink attacks the market leader strength that is wide area network coverage. It attacks the market leader by delivering services with lower price than market leader. And it convinces the market that its offering better service with comparatively lower price than market leader. It is always working on increasing the network coverage as more as possible. Banglalink also launches a full frontal attack on advertisement. Flank Attack: Banglalink challenging Grameenphone on its weakness that is call price. They offer less call price than any other firm. It segment the total market any tries to satisfy each segment with better services and lower prices. A wider variety of offerings: Banglalink offers a variety of packages such as Banglalink desh, Banglalink desh ek rate, Banglalink desh 7fnf, 1 second pulse, Banglalink desh special fnf etc to compete with the different packages offered by the market leader and other competitors. They also offer bonus talktime, free sms etc on many occasion. Guerrilla welfare: Sometimes we see Banglalink suddenly cutting down its sim price and aggressive sales campaign and promotions as a part of its competitive strategy to demoralize the opponent. Innovative distribution strategy: Bangllink is not only dependent on selling their sim or talk time by their authorized dealers or retail shops, sometimes they bring some innovative idea like selling on streets, in educational institutions, Country borders where people get into Bangladesh from another country, bus terminals, railway stations etc. to increase its sales more than other competitors in the country.

Market Follower
Robi Axiata Limited and Airtel Bangladesh Limited are the market followers, the firms willing to maintain their market share and not rock the boat. 19% of the market is in the hand of Robi and 7% is in the hand of Airtel.

Market Follower Strategies

Robi are challenging the competitors by lower prices, improved services and innovative features. ROBI can gain advantage as a market follower. The market leader often bears the huge expense of developing new products and other innovative things. By contrast, ROBI is just following the leaders experience. They are trying to hold the current customers and win a fare share of new ones. They are trying to bring distinct advantage to its target market- location, services, financing etc. They are trying to provide the service at lower price. Robi identified that they will get advantages from airtime especially from the students and small entrepreneurs. Because they wants easy packages and lower tariff, and Robi make it for them. Robi Axiata Ltd has introduced a one-of-a-kind agriculture based service call Robi Haat-bazaar. The service is intended to help agricultural marketing, which is an essential tool for uninterrupted supply of products to the consumers. Farmers in the rural areas can achieve potential benefit from their produce if they have access to the markets in which they sell their harvest. Robi Haat-Bazaar is an integration of two important services; Bazaar Dor and Krishibazaar.

Market Nicher
Citycell and Teletalk Bangladesh Limited play the role of Nicher who serves small market segments not being served by the large firms. Teletalk Bangladesh Limited has continually expanded its network, to better accommodate its growing customer base as well as to keep the promise of providing better service. Teletalk is the first mobile operator introduced 3G technologies.

Market Nicher Strategies

Instead of competing with the Market leader and other large firm in the industry, Citycell and Teletalk target small market segments. They focus on one or a few specific customers. Citycell mainly focuses on Business customers. They are the only CDMA mobile operator in the country. They work on the unique needs of the customers. They have introduced different value added services and Mobile Banking services to capture a particular group of customers. Citycell is a service oriented company; design is not an alarming matter for them and also design is not eligible for them. But as far as the cellular handset matter they try their best to keep a regular eye on the CDMA handset manufactures, and they also try to import fair designed sets form them at a margin price. Teletalks marketing strategy is to differentiate the services from other operators on the market. Its primary customer targets is the middle-upper income professional that need to coordinate their busy schedules and communicate with colleagues, friends and family. Their secondary consumer targets are college and graduate students who want infotainment. Initially, Teletalk is likely to launch 3G services in select cities where expect a high demand for 3G services like Dhaka, Chittagong etc. and

then gradually expand to other cities and towns. Teletalk Bangladesh Limited recently launched 3G services, with an initial subscriber base of 300,000 in the capital Dhaka which is very unique in Bangladesh.

Figure: Matrix of Market Position/Managerial Resources

Conclusion
From this long discussion about the mobile telecom industry in Bangladesh, it can be said that this industry still has potential for growth with profitability. Though there are some problems in political and legal ground, the industry is lucrative enough for rapid growth and expansion in ICTs- which can contribute to the dream of digital Bangladesh. Moreover, the mobile telecom industry in Bangladesh is moderately attractive with huge growth potential. GP has positioned itself in the best way to explore these opportunities with its core competencies and competitive strategies. It also has resilience in its diversified business model. To enhance the participatory role of Teletalk to build "Digital Bangladesh" Teletalk has launched 3G services for the first time in Bangladesh on 14 Oct'2012.