Banglalink VEON’s digital operator in Bangladesh appointed Johan Buse as CEO. The international digital operator VEON Ltd. declared on Tuesday. This role will take effect on April 6, 2025.
Johan comes to Banglalink from StarHub in Singapore. Where he oversaw the Consumer Business Group, which was primarily focused on business transformation and strategy. Johan had previously worked in the telecom sector for decades in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. He had held significant roles at Deutsche Telekom Croatia, AXIS, and Singtel before joining Ooredoo Oman as its Chief Commercial Officer. Erik Aas, who decided to leave Banglalink after nine fruitful years would be replaced by Johan.
Kaan Terzioglu, the CEO of VEON Group, in response to the hiring, stated that “I welcome Johan to the VEON family and Banglalink team. He has decades of experience in a variety of emerging economies, making him ideally suited to quicken our digital expansion and our contributions to the economic development of Bangladesh. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Erik Aas for his exceptional leadership over the last nine years, which have seen Banglalink grow into a nationwide operator that provides a top notch 4G experience and industry-leading digital services through Toffee, MyBL, and RYZE.”
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Erik Aas, CEO of Banglalink, stated that “over the past nine years, it has been an honor to lead the amazing Banglalink team, bringing VEON’s innovative spirit, ‘4G for all’ focus, and digital services to millions of Bangladeshis.” He also said, “I’m happy to hand the reins over to Johan Buse, a highly qualified successor who, with the help of an elite staff, I’m confident will propel Banglalink to new heights in service to Bangladesh.”
Johan Buse “The opportunity to lead Banglalink at this significant point, when the future is filled with customer-focused value-creating prospects, is something I truly look forward to taking over from Erik. Giving Bangladeshis access to highly coveted digital and connectivity services is more crucial than ever as the nation enters a historic moment of transformation and transforms its digital landscape.
He also expressed, “We have an excellent chance to use VEON’s digital experience and Banglalink’s top-notch workforce to speed up initiatives to close the digital divide, encourage creativity, and open doors that will improve the lives of millions of people in Bangladesh. I’m excited to take advantage of these chances with our team and clients.”
Intro of Banglalink
Digital Communications Company Banglalink, the Dutch-owned telecom provider Banglalink (previously Sheba Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd.), has its main office in Gulshan-1, Dhaka. It is wholly owned by VEON Ltd. and is the third biggest mobile network provider in Bangladesh.
By December 2005 Banglalink had one million customers, and by October 2006, it was three million. With more than 7.1 million customers, Banglalink surpassed Airtel (now Robi) in less than two years to become the second-largest operator in Bangladesh, behind Grameenphone.
In August 2006, Banglalink became the first company to offer free incoming calls from BTTB for both postpaid and prepaid connections. On August 20, 2008, Banglalink reached the milestone of a 10 million subscriber base. As of August 2021, Banglalink had 36.90 million subscribers. Up until December 2005, Banglalink had 1.03 million connections. By the end of 2006, its user base had grown by 257% to reach 3.64 million, making it the fastest-growing operator in the world at the time.
If Banglalink’s network is unreliable or has no signal, users can use the Teletalk network under national roaming. Currently, this functionality is in trial mode. To service consumers under the Banglalink & Teletalk national roaming network, Banglalink will use a total of 20,600 mobile network towers.
