Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina today inaugurated Grameenphone’s 3G network at Dohogram in Lalmonirhat, a remote area, through a video conference from Ganabhaban with Tarana Halim, MP, State Minister, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

The State Minister along with the local member of the parliament, the Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Md. Motahar Hossain, MP were at Dohogram to inaugurate the Grameenphone 3G service. The Grameenphone Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Sethi and Chief Marketing Officer Yasir Azman were present at Ganabhaban with other senior officials of the company and the government, while Grameenphone Chief Corporate Affair’s Officer, Mahmud Hossain, was present in Dohogram with the State Minister.

Grameenphone’s 3G network was inaugurated from the Dohogram High School field at a special ceremony in the presence of thousands of residents and senior governmental officials.

As part of Grameenphone’s superior network coverage initiatives, GP decided to expand mobile network in the former enclaves and remote areas of Bangladesh. As a first step towards that Grameenphone set up a 3G network site and connected Dohogram to the cyber world in the process. This is the first 3G site set up by an operator in one of the remotest areas of Bangladesh.

Speaking at the inaugural program in the presence of the prime minister at the Ganabhaban, Grameenphone CEO, Rajeev Sethi said,” Telecom and Internet have the potential to leapfrog the lack of infrastructure and bring about development at a faster pace. With access to 3G services the people of Dohogram will be able to connect with a Digital Bangladesh. We already have the largest 2G and 3G network in Bangladesh and are happy to be able to serve them with quality services.”

The recent implementation of Land Boundary Agreement between Bangladesh and India ended the misery of 50,000 people, who found themselves stranded in political limbo for 68 years and without any civic rights - deprived of all the facilities a State can provide, from education to health, for a long time. These people have been living in enclaves without any connection to the respective countries or the people, since the partition of the Indian Sub-continent in 1947.

On the sideline of the program at Dohogram, Grameenphone also presented a number of Desktop computers with internet connectivity, under its corporate responsibility program, to the local Dohogram High School.

Grameenphone has an ambition to provide “Internet for All” in Bangladesh. Through this ambition the company wants to connect all Bangladeshis to internet, build awareness among potential users about the benefits of Internet and enable them to use digital services to bring positive changes in their lives. Connecting Dohogram is another step towards further expanding the company’s Internet for All ambition. Grameenphone has already installed 5600 3G BTS around the country covering 70% of the population.