Banglalink digital communications limited (previously orascom telecom bangladesh limited) is fully owned by telecom ventures ltd. (previously orascom telecom ventures limited) of malta, which is a 100% owned subsidiary of global telecom holding (www.gtelecom.com). following business combination, in april 2011, between vimpelcom ltd. and wind telecom s.p.a, vimpelcom owns 51.92% shares of global telecom holding. vimpelcom (www.vimpelcom.com) is one of the world's largest integrated ltd. telecommunications services operators providing voice and data services through a range of traditional and broadband mobile and fixed technologies in russia, italy, ukraine, kazakhstan, uzbekistan, tajikistan, armenia, georgia, kyrgyzstan, laos, algeria, pakistan, zimbabwe and bangladesh. vimpelcom is headquartered in amsterdam, the netherlands and listed as an ads on the nasdaq global select market under the symbol "vip". since banglalink's launch in february 2005, its impact was felt immediately: overnight mobile telephony became an affordable option for customers across a wide range of market segments. Banglalink's initial success was based on a simple mission: "bringing mobile telephony to the masses" which was the cornerstone of its strategy. banglalink changed the mobile phone status from luxury to a necessity, brought mobile telephone to the general people of Bangladesh and made a place in their hearts. The mobile phone has become the symbol for positive change in Bangladesh. The brand slogan of "start something new" is in essence derived from banglalink's promise of empowering people with affordable communication solutions so that they can take new initiatives in life. The company believes that, it is through such new initiatives that positive change will occur for the overall betterment of the nation. Banglalink attained 1 million subscribers by december 2005 and 3 million subscribers in october 2006. in less than two years which is by december 2007, banglalink overtook aktel to become the second largest operator in bangladesh with more than 7.1 million customers. banglalink currently has 31.9 million subscribers as of february 2016 , representing a market share of 24.4%. Banglalink's growth over the preceding years have been fuelled with innovative products and services targeting different market segments, aggressive improvement of network quality and dedicated customer care, creating an extensive distribution network across the country, and establishing a strong brand that emotionally connected customers with banglalink.