& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Handset trade brisk as mobile connection fee turns token

M Abdur Rahim And Md Hasan
As stiff competition leads operators ' to bring down connection charge to token level andcut call tariff making । mobile phone subscription affordable for middle and lower income people, handset business is passing 1 a brisk time.
A GrameenPhone prepaid connection is available at Tk 250 and AKTEL offers at Tk 30Q. The same was over Tk 2,000 a year back. Operators' new strategy of’coming outof handset business and limiting business to call charge also gives boost to booming handset market.
The rebirth of Shebaworld as Banglalink and the emergence of Teletalk in the wireless business have ignited the mobile market in Bangladesh triggering a rat race for cut in tariff and connection charge making people afford a cellphone than any time ever. SIM (subscriber identity module) card of Bangalink is available in the market atTk 100 andTeletalk'satTk 1800.
The handset makers have also geared up to reach out to the growing number of middle class and low income subscribers offering handsets at prices as low as Tk 3,000. Big names Nokia. Samsung, Sony . Ericsson, Siemens and Motorola now focus on marketing low-priced sets in the country.
Nokia’s 1100 model is the biggest hit in Bangladesh market. Vendors
sayone person in every three buying a handset chooses the Tk 4,100 slim lookset.
"We now sell 20 to 25 handsets a day while a few months back we could sell only 8 to 10 sets. As operators do not dictate handsets, subscribers now have freedom to choose from a wide array of sets available in markets," said Faruk Ahmed Pintu, proprietor of Anik Electrodes Musium, a mobile handset shop at Motalib Plaza in Dhaka.
Earlier, SIM card was available only in few authorised outlets but now it is available even in a grocery shop of a neighbourhood. So, people now can buy a SIM card anytime, hesaid.
"Apart from cheap SIM card, cut in call tariff and extension of validity period are also contributing to overwhelming growth in subscriber base as well as handset sale, "he added.
The booming business prompts many shopping malls to allocate a floor for mobile phones. Once the country's largest handset market. Eastern Plaza nowappears to bowdown to its adjoining Motalib Plaza on Sonargaon Road whose 80 outlets have nowemerged as city’scellphonehub.
Bashundhara City, Rifles Square, Nahar Plaza and Bangabandhu National Stadium Market also have become popular destination for mobile phone seekers.
Slim and low-priced handsets of renowned manufacturers lure
people most. Handsets costing between Tk 5,000 and Tk 10,000 are thebestsellers.
Nokia has the widest variety of sets in local market. Starting at Tk 4,100 for its 1100 model, the Nokia 9210i costs Tk 45,000 and also has
handsets with camera and video facilities.
Samsung also has variety of handsets. It has camera and video technology handsets- E310 is available atTk 13,500 and D500atTk 25,000 with some other models
available in the market.
Vendors are also selling other top brands including Siemens, Sony Ericsson. Motorola and Panasonic and customers now have a wide range of choice to pick up their preferred ones.