Robi (company)

Telecommunications company in Bangladesh

Robi Axiata PLC

Logo since 2010

Native name

| রবি আজিয়াটা পিএলসি
Formerly| TM International Bangladesh (AKTEL or AKTel)
Company type| Public subsidiary

Traded as

* DSE: ROBI
* CSE: ROBI

Industry| Mobile telecommunication services
Predecessor|

* Airtel Bangladesh Ltd.

Founded| 15 November 1997; 27 years ago (1997-11-15)
Founder| A.M. Zahiruddin Khan[1]
Headquarters| Robi Corporate Office (NEW), The Forum, 187-188/B, Bir Uttam Mir Shawkat Sarak, Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Area served

| Bangladesh

Key people

* Rajeev Sethi (CEO)

Brands|

* Airtel Bangladesh
* bdtickets.com
* Robi Wifi
* Binge

Services|

* Mobile telephony
* Mobile internet
* Digital services
* GSM
* 4G LTE
* VoLTE
* eSIM

Revenue| US$910 million (2020)

Net income

| US$20 million (2020)
Owner| Axiata (61.82%)
Bharti Airtel (Bharati Enterprises of India) (28.18%)
Public holds (10%)
Members| 58.34 million
(Q1 2024)
Subsidiaries|

* Axentec PLC
* RedDot Digital Limited
* Smart Pay Limited
* Bangladesh Infrastructure Company Limited

Website| www.robi.com.bd
Footnotes / references
[2][3][4][5]

Robi Axiata PLC. (d/b/a Robi) is the second largest mobile network operator in Bangladesh.[6] Axiata of Malaysia holds a major controlling stake of 61.82% in the company, while Bharti Airtel of India holds 28.18% and investors in DSE and CSE hold 10%.[7] Robi first commenced operation in 1997 as Telekom Malaysia International (Bangladesh) with the brand name ‘AKTEL’ and was a joint venture of Axiata and NTT Docomo. In 2010, the company was re-branded to ‘Robi’ and the company changed its name to Robi Axiata Limited. As per government rule, the name changed to Robi Axiata PLC in 2024 as Robi is listed in Stock Market and a Public Limited Company. Robi Axiata has spectrum on GSM 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands. On 16 November 2016, Airtel Bangladesh was merged into Robi as a product brand of Robi, where Robi Axiata PLC is the licensee of Airtel brand only in Bangladesh. Having successfully completed the merger process, Robi has emerged as the second largest mobile phone operator in Bangladesh.[8]

## History

[edit]

Robi Axiata PLC started as a joint venture company between Telekom Malaysia and AK Khan and Company. It was formerly known as Telekom Malaysia International Bangladesh Limited which commenced operations in Bangladesh in 1997 with the brand name 'AKTEL'.[9] In 2007, AK Khan and Company exited the business by selling its 30% stake to Japan's NTT Docomo for US$350 million.[10]

In 2009, then AKTEL, now Robi Axiata, was the first operator to introduce GPRS and 3.5G services in the country.[11]

On 28 March 2010, 'AKTEL' was rebranded as 'Robi' which means "sun" in Bengali. It also took the logo of parent company Axiata Group which itself also went through a major rebranding in 2009.[12] In 2013, after five years of presence, Docomo reduced its ownership to 8% for Axiata to take 92%.[13]

On 28 January 2016, it was announced that Robi Axiata and Airtel Bangladesh will merge in Q1 2016. The combined entity will be called Robi, to serve about 40 million subscribers combined by both networks. Axiata Group will own 68.3% share, while Bharti Group will own 25%, and NTT Docomo held 6.31% shares.[14][15] Finally Robi and Airtel were merged on 16 November 2016 and Robi set sail as the merged company.[16] Later on, in 2020, after a decade with Robi, NTT Docomo decided to leave Bangladesh by selling its remaining stake in Robi Axiata PLC to Bharti International.

In August 2021, CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed stepped down as Robi CEO.[17] Company CFO M Riyaaz Rasheed stepped in as acting CEO in addition to his current duties.[18][19]

Mobile network operator Robi Axiata PLC has appointed Rajeev Sethi as the company’s chief executive officer from October 2022. He will be replacing M Riyaaz Rasheed, who has been serving as Robi’s acting chief executive officer since August 2021.[20]

Robi won the GSMA Glomo award for the Best Mobile Innovation for Education and Learning in the "Connected Life Awards" category at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017, is highly noteworthy.[21]

## Numbering scheme

[edit]

Both sides of a Robi 4G SIM card

Robi uses the following numbering scheme for its subscribers:

+880 18 NNNNNNNN (ROBI brand)

+880 16 NNNNNNNN (AIRTEL brand)

Where, +880 is the International subscriber dialing code for Bangladesh.

18 and 16 is the access code for Robi as assigned by the Government of Bangladesh. Omitting +88 will require to use 0 in place of it instead to represent local call, hence 018 and 016 is the general access code.

N1N2N3N4N5N6N7N8 is the subscriber number.

After the merger with Airtel, Robi owns the 016 number series as well.

In 2018, when Mobile number portability was introduced, users can port to any operator without changing number.[22][23]

## Network

[edit]

Robi is currently the second largest mobile operator in Bangladesh in terms of total number of mobile towers or BTS. As of August 2024, Robi has a total of 18,473 Mobile Network Tower or BTS across the country.[24]

## Spectrums

[edit]

The Robi/Airtel network is also GPRS/EDGE/3G-enabled, with a growing 4G network, allowing internet access within its coverage area. its Total spectrum volume is 124.00 MHz, 104.00 MHz is currently being used by Robi/Airtel, the remaining 20 MHz will be added from June 2025.

Frequencies used on ROBI/AIRTEL Network in Bangladesh:

Band: 8/900 MHz, Total Frequency: 09 MHz, Width: EDGE/LTE/LTE-A, Protocol: 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC,6CC

Band: 3/ 1800 MHz, Total Frequency: 20 MHz, Width: EDGE/LTE/LTE-A, Protocol: 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC,6CC

Band: 1/ 2100 MHz, Total Frequency: 15 MHz, Width: LTE/LTE-A, Protocol: 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC,6CC

Band: 41/ 2600 MHz, Total Frequency: 60+20 MHz, Width: LTE/LTE-A, Protocol: 2CC,3CC,4CC,5CC,6CC

## Services

[edit]

### Binge

[edit]

Binge

Type of business| Subsidiary

Type of site

| OTT streaming platform
Available in| Bangla
Headquarters| Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Country of origin| Bangladesh
Area served| Worldwide
Owner| Robi Axiata
Industry| Tech & Entertainment
Products|

* Streaming media
* Video on demand
* Digital distribution

Services|

* Film production
* Film distribution
* Television production
* Television distribution

Parent| Robi Axiata
URL| binge.buzz
Commercial| Yes
Registration| Required
Launched| May 21, 2020; 5 years ago (2020-05-21)
Current status| Active

Binge is a Bangladeshi subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming platform and original programming production company. It is owned by RedDot Digital via subsidiary of Robi Axiata.[25] It was launched on 21 May 2020 through a Facebook event.[26] The platform primarily offers and distributes live television channels, series and films licensed to Binge, as Binge Originals. The service also hosts content from other providers, content add-ons, live sporting events.[27]

Binge stepped into international market on 25 June 2021 by launching it's service in Malaysia with the co-operation of Celcom.[6] In March 2022, Binge expanded it's availability to more than 120 countries.[28] Currently operating worldwide, Binge has both free and premium subscription options.

At the very beginning, Robi Axiata had decided to use Wowza's Streaming Engine but later they designed a streaming platform that can work with the Streaming Engine and could be configured for best performance. On 21 May 2020, the streaming platform launched by the name, "Binge".[8]

Binge is being made of combining IPTV and digital entertainment services into a single online streaming site.[29] It was the first Bangladeshi Google-certified online video streaming service that can be used on any Android device, including phones and televisions.[29][30][31]

### Content

[edit]

Binge mainly focuses on Bangla language content. They have two categories of contents: premium and free respectively. To watch premium, content subscription is required.[13]

Binge is available now from more than120 countries around the world. Binge has come up with two subscription plans for global audience. Users can avail of the service both in monthly and yearly subscription plans.[28][14]

Subsequently, it has logged in 1 lakh subscriptions in just over three months.[30]

Binge is maintained by RedDot Digital currently in partnership with Genex Infosys.[31] Binge Android smart device and streaming platform- both were developed by Genex Infosys.[30]

## See also

[edit]

* Telecommunications in Bangladesh
* List of companies of Bangladesh
* Grameenphone
* Banglalink
* Airtel Bangladesh
* Internet in Bangladesh
* List of telecommunications companies of Bangladesh
* List of media companies of Bangladesh
* Mass media in Bangladesh
* Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Bangladesh)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Daily Star Web Edition Vol. 5 Num 299". Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
2. ^ "Robi-Airtel". 29 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
3. ^ "Robi makes Tk 170m profit in 2019". Prothom Alo English. 22 February 2020. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
4. ^ "Press Release on Telecom Subscription Data as on December, 2019". Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
5. ^ "The Rise of Robi: Second Largest Telecom Operator in Bangladesh -". 24 April 2021. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
6. ^ a b "Bangladeshi OTT platform Binge set to rock Malaysia". Barta24. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
7. ^ "Company Profile - Robi".
8. ^ a b "Robi Axiata: Building an OTT service from scratch". 23 February 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
9. ^ Hasan, Mahmudul (15 November 2022). "25 years of operation: GP on a roll, Robi yet to find strong footing". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
10. ^ "NTT DoCoMo to buy 30pc stake in AKTEL for $350m". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
11. ^ "Aktel launches GPRS". Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
12. ^ "Aktel turns into Robi, takes a new logo". Dhaka Mirror. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. ^ a b "Bengali OTT Platforms for Watching Movies, Web Series, Musical Shows". UNB. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
14. ^ a b "Robi's Binge available in 120-plus countries". UNB. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
15. ^ "Axiata and Bharti Airtel Agree to Merge Operations in Bangladesh". Axiata. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
16. ^ "Robi sets sail as the Merged Company". Robi. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
17. ^ "Mahtab Uddin Ahmed steps down as Robi CEO". Dhaka Tribune. 5 August 2021.
18. ^ "Mahtab Ahmed steps down as Robi MD after 5 years". bdnews24.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
19. ^ "Mahtab Uddin Ahmed steps down as Robi CEO". Dhaka Tribune. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
20. ^ "Rajeev Sethi joins Robi Axiata as CEO". Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
21. ^ "Robi-10 Minute School wins prestigious Glomo Awards 2017 at the Mobile World Congress". Retrieved 2 October 2020.
22. ^ "Everything you need to know about Mobile Number Portability". 8 October 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
23. ^ "Switch to any operator". The Daily Star (Bangladesh). 30 September 2018. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
24. ^ ""Parbe Tumio"- Robi Celebrates Resilience of The People of Bangladesh". Robi Official Website. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
25. ^ "বিঞ্জ । টিভি'তে ব্র্যান্ড-নিউ লুক". www.robi.com.bd. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
26. ^ "Digital entertainment platform 'Binge' starts its journey". The Business Standard. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
27. ^ "Watch Original Web Series | Live TV | Foreign Drama | Sports I Blockbuster Movies". binge.buzz. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
28. ^ a b "Robi's Binge available now in more than 120 countries". Dhaka Tribune. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
29. ^ a b "Vicky Zahed's First Web Series 'Silence' to Hit Binge this February". UNB. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
30. ^ a b c Hasan, Mahmudul (1 September 2020). "Binge, Bangladesh's first IPTV, diving deep into Bengali original video content". The Daily Star. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
31. ^ a b Islam, Muhammad Zahidul (20 May 2020). "Robi subsidiary brings the future of video entertainment to Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 4 May 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* official website
* Binge (Streaming Service)

Media related to Robi (company) at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Axiata

Group structure as at 17 April 2025

Wholly owned telco subsidiaries|

* Celcom
* Smart Axiata

Non wholly owned telco subsidiaries|

* Dialog Axiata
* Multinet
* Ncell Axiata
* Robi Axiata
* XLSmart (XL, Axis, Smartfren)

Associates / affiliates telco|

* Loop Mobile

Telecom infrastructure subsidiary|

* Edotco

Digital services subsidiaries|

* ADA
* Apigate
* Aspirasi
* Boost (e-wallet)

* v
* t
* e

Mobile network operators of Bangladesh

Active|

* Banglalink
* Grameenphone
* Robi
* TeleTalk

Defunct|

* Airtel (merged into Robi)
* Citycell
* Warid (predecessor of Airtel)

* v
* t
* e

Video on demand services

* Digital library
* Streaming media
* Video on demand

Free or
ad-supported|

* 3ABN+
* 7plus
* 9Now
* 10
* ABC iview
* Abema
* Amazon miniTV
* MX Player
* Angel Studios
* Arte Boutique
* BBC iPlayer
* Bilibili
* Binge (Bangladeshi streaming service)
* Bioscope
* Bongo BD
* Brollie
* CBC Gem
* Channel 4
* CONtv
* CSpace
* CTV Movies / Throwback
* CW Seed
* ERTFLIX
* Facebook Watch
* Fandango at Home
* 5
* France·tv
* Globoplay Free
* Haystack News
* Hoopla
* Ici TOU.TV
* ITVX
* iWant
* Joyn
* Kanopy
* Lemino
* Libreflix
* Local Now
* meWATCH
* Mediaset Infinity (Italy)
* Mediaset Infinity (Spain)
* MX Player
* NASA+
* Ora TV
* PBS
* PBS Kids
* PictureBox Films
* Plex
* Pluto TV
* Pop Player
* PPTV
* RaiPlay
* RTÉ Player
* RTP Play
* RCTI+
* The Roku Channel
* RTVE Play
* Red Bull TV
* Revry
* SBS On Demand
* Shahid
* Shout! Factory TV
* Sling Freestream
* Snapchat
* Spuul
* STV Player
* SVT Play
* Stirr
* Telemundo
* TF1+
* ThreeNow
* Toffee
* Toon Goggles
* tonton
* Tubi
* TVer
* Tvigle
* TVNZ+
* tvyo
* S4C Clic
* U
* Vevo
* Viddsee
* Vidio
* Viki
* Virgin Media Play
* Vision+
* Viva One
* ViX
* Voddler
* VMX
* Xfinity Streampix
* XITE
* Xumo
* YouTube
* Kids
* YuppTV

Subscription
-based|

* Abema Premium
* Acorn TV
* Aha
* Alchemiya
* Allblk
* ALTBalaji
* Amazon Prime Video
* AMC+
* Ameba TV
* ANT1+
* Apple TV+
* APTN Lumi
* Atresplayer
* BBC Select
* Beacon
* Bentkey
* BET+
* Binge (Australian streaming service)
* Binge (Bangladeshi streaming service)
* Bioscope
* BritBox
* Bongo BD
* Brown Sugar
* Canal+
* Chorki
* Club illico
* C More Play
* Crave
* Criterion Channel
* Crunchyroll
* Curiosity Stream
* DailyWire+
* Discovery+
* Disney+
* Hotstar
* Star
* d-anime Store
* DMM TV
* DocPlay
* Dropout
* Eros Now
* ETV Win
* Fandor
* Floatplane
* Filmin
* Fox Nation
* Fox One
* Foxtel Now
* France Channel
* GagaOOLala
* Gaia
* Globoplay
* \+ live channels
* Telecine
* Great American Pure Flix
* Hayu
* Hidive
* History Vault
* Hulu
* Hulu Japan
* Iflix
* iQIYI
* Lemino Premium
* HBO Max
* Infinity+ (Italy)
* Infinity+ (Spain)
* MGM+
* Irokotv
* ITVX Premium
* iWant
* Kocowa
* Mango TV
* Means TV
* meWATCH Prime
* Mola
* Motor Trend
* Mubi
* Nebula
* Neon
* Netflix
* Night Flight Plus
* Now
* Oneplay
* OSN+
* OutTVGO
* Pantaya
* Paramount+
* PBS Passport
* Peacock
* RTL+
* Shahid VIP
* Showmax
* Shudder
* SkyShowtime
* Sling TV
* SonyLIV
* Sony Pictures Core
* Spacetoon Go
* Stan
* Starz
* STV Player+
* SundanceNow
* Sun NXT
* TAPP TV
* Telasa
* The Roku Channel
* TIMvision
* Toffee
* Toku
* TV 2 Play
* TVING
* U-Next
* Paravi
* Upstream
* Viaplay
* VidAngel
* Videoland
* Vidio Premier
* Vision+ Premium
* Viu
* Viva One
* ViX
* ViX Premium
* VMX
* Voyo
* VVVVID
* Wondrium
* WeTV
* WOW Presents Plus
* XITE
* Yippee TV
* Youku
* YouTube Premium
* ZEE5

Rental or
purchase|

* Amazon Prime Video
* Apple TV
* DLsite
* Fandango at Home
* FandangoNOW
* Google Play
* Google TV
* Huawei Video
* iTunes Store
* Microsoft Movies & TV
* Nintendo eShop
* Rakuten TV
* Sky Store
* Sony Pictures Core
* The Great Courses
* YouTube Movies & Shows

Sports|

* All Japan Pro Wrestling TV
* B/R Live
* beIN Sports Connect
* Big Japan Pro Wrestling Core
* DAZN
* Eleven Sports
* ESPN+
* Eurosport Player
* Fanseat
* Fanatiz
* FloSports
* FuboTV
* Honor Club
* Kayo Sports
* Laola1
* MLB.tv
* MLS Season Pass
* NBA League Pass
* NBL TV
* New Japan Pro-Wrestling World
* NFL Game Pass
* Premier Football
* OneSoccer
* Sky Sport Now
* Sportsnet Now
* Stan Sport
* T Sports
* TSN Direct
* TNA+
* Triller TV
* NWA All Access
* UFC Fight Pass
* WatchAFL
* WatchNRL
* Wrestle Universe
* WWE Network

TV Everywhere|

* ABC
* AMC Premiere
* Bally Sports app
* CBS
* Cinemax On Demand
* CNN TV app
* DisneyNow
* Foxtel Go
* Freeform
* FXNOW
* Canais Globo
* HGTV
* NBC
* Redbox Free Live TV
* Sky Go
* Sky Q
* Spark Sport
* The CW
* TVB Anywhere
* Watch TBS
* Ziggo Go

Discontinued|

* 123Movies
* Amazon Freevee
* AnimeLab
* Blim TV
* BluTV
* CNN+
* Crackle
* DC Universe
* Disney Deluxe
* dittoTV
* Dplay
* DramaFever
* FOXNOW
* Funimation
* FX+
* Global Wrestling Network
* go90
* GolfTV
* HBO Go
* HBO Now
* Hillsong Channel Now
* Hitchhike TV
* HOOQ
* Lightbox
* NBC Sports Gold
* Noggin
* On Demand
* PlayStation Video
* Popcornflix
* Presto
* Quibi
* Quickflix
* Redbox
* Redbox Instant
* Salto
* Seeso
* Shomi
* Sky On Demand
* Sky Select
* Struum
* Star+
* Veoh
* Vessel
* Viewster
* Voot
* VRV
* VyRT
* Wakanim
* WatchESPN
* Yahoo! Screen

Related|

* Australia
* Canada
* New Zealand

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template