History
Robi Axiata PLC started as a joint venture company between Telekom Malaysia and AK Khan and Company. It was formerly known as Telekom Malaysia International Bangladesh Limited which commenced operations in Bangladesh in 1997 with the brand name 'AKTEL'.[10] In 2007, AK Khan and Company exited the business by selling its 30% stake to Japan's NTT Docomo for US$350 million.[11]
In 2009, then AKTEL, now Robi Axiata, was the first operator to introduce GPRS and 3.5G services in the country.[12]
On 28 March 2010, 'AKTEL' was rebranded as 'Robi' which means "sun" in Bengali. It also took the logo of parent company Axiata Group which itself also went through a major rebranding in 2009.[13] In 2013, after five years of presence, Docomo reduced its ownership to 8% for Axiata to take 92%.[14]
On 28 January 2016, it was announced that Robi Axiata and Airtel Bangladesh will merge in Q1 2016. The combined entity will be called Robi, to serve about 40 million subscribers combined by both networks. Axiata Group will own 68.3% share, while Bharti Group will own 25%, and NTT Docomo held 6.31% shares.[15][16] Finally Robi and Airtel were merged on 16 November 2016 and Robi set sail as the merged company.[17] Later on, in 2020, after a decade with Robi, NTT Docomo decided to leave Bangladesh by selling its remaining stake in Robi Axiata PLC to Bharti International.
In August 2021, CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed stepped down as Robi CEO.[18] Company CFO M Riyaaz Rasheed stepped in as acting CEO in addition to his current duties.[19][20]
Mobile network operator Robi Axiata PLC has appointed Rajeev Sethi as the company's chief executive officer from October 2022. He will be replacing M Riyaaz Rasheed, who has been serving as Robi's acting chief executive officer since August 2021.[21]
Robi won the GSMA Glomo award for the Best Mobile Innovation for Education and Learning in the "Connected Life Awards" category at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017, is highly noteworthy.[22]
On 1 September 2025, Robi became the first telecom operator to launch 5G in Bangladesh, with initial rollouts in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. This was soon followed by Grameenphone, which became the second operator to do so.[23][24]
