Bangladesh-based operator Grameenphone awarded a contract for radio equipment to long-term partner NEC to modernise its existing network and expand transmission capacity.

The Japanese vendor claimed in a statement the upgrade will help Grameenphone reduce the total cost of ownership of network equipment by deploying modulation channel aggregation and MIMO systems, as well as traffic aggregation functions across various frequencies, including microwave and mmWave bands.

Yukio Hioki, GM of NEC’s Wireless Solution Division, said it has supplied radio equipment to the operator since 2003.

Grameenphone, majority owned by Telenor Group, ended September with 82 million mobile subscribers, giving it a near 47 per cent market share, data from GSMA Intelligence showed.

While the statement didn’t mention 5G kit, Bangladesh is scheduled to hold a spectrum auction in December, putting 400MHz of 3.5GHz airwaves on the block. Last month, the regulator allocated 60MHz in the band to state-owned Teletalk, which is required to launch 5G service by year-end, The Business Standard reported.