4G internet services by the BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) operators popularly known as WiMAX will be introduced in the country this year.
The operators have already got regulatory approval in this connection and are taking necessary steps, said industry insiders.
The operators those are in the race to provide hi-speed internet services are Banglalion, Qubee and new BWA licence holder Bangladesh Internet Exchange Ltd. (BIEL) known as Ollo.
However, mobile phone operators are reluctant to launch the 4G (4th generation) or LTE (Long Term Evolution) internet services immediately due to having problem of device compatibility.
Besides, the operators have started launching 3G or third generation mobile phone services across the country since October 2013.
At present almost 5.0 per cent mobile phone users of the country has 3G compatible mobile handsets out of around 111 million users. And a little portion of users have 4G-enable handsets. That is why the operators are giving attention to increase penetration of smartphone to spread the service.
Chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Sunil Kanti Bose earlier said the trend of mobile phone use is being changed.
He gave an example that the people in develop countries use mobile phones for mainly data service instead of voice.
BIEL announced recently that the company started test transmission of the LTE service in some areas of the city. The company will fully launch the service at the end of the year.
Chief Technical Officer of the operator Md Mizanur Rahaman told the newsmen at a press conference that their upload and download speed would be up to 150 mbps, which is faster than the wired connections.
The BIEL has a target to cover all the major cities across the country before 2015, according to the official sources.
Currently, the BIEL covers major areas of Dhaka including Uttara, Gulshan, Banani, Mohakhali, Dhanmondi, Motijheel and its surrounding areas to provide internet service under ISP licence.
According to the sources, the rest two BWA operators - Banglalion and Qubee - are taking preparation for launching the service by this year.
