KDDI to buy half of Bangladeshi ISP bracNET

Dow Jones Newswires reports that Japanese cellco KDDI plans to acquire a 50% stake in Brac BDMail Network (bracNET), a Bangladesh-based ISP, through a third-party allotment of new shares by the Dhaka-based firm. The report, quoting Japanese source Kyodo News, says that KDDI, decided to invest in bracNET as the internet penetration rate in Bangladesh remains as low as 2%, with significant unmet demand. The Bangladeshi company was founded in 2005 by Defta Partners, a venture capital firm in California, and non-profit organisation Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee. KDDI has yet to announce further details of the deal, including its value and timeframe. According to TeleGeography's GlobalComms Database, bracNET failed to make the payments on 2.3GHz WiMAX spectrum which it won in an auction last year; its returned licence was subsequently bought by Mango Teleservices, which is also licensed for international internet gateway (IIG) services.