Phone and internet firms are rolling out cheaper handsets and may turn to hot-air balloons to boost network coverage in developing countries, where sales of smartphones are booming.

Telenor, the majority shareholder of the country's leading mobile operator Grameenphone, yesterday announced its plan to introduce roaming services at an affordable rate, in a bid to eliminate high and unpredictable costs using mobile services while abroad.

Robi's net profits rose around 20 percent year-on-year to Tk 440 crore in 2014 on the back of attractive customer-centric products and service offerings and effective cost management.

More than 6,000 cars are stranded at ports amid importers' reluctance to take delivery of the vehicles fearing vandalism on way to their final destinations.

The tourism sector lost around Tk 2,000 crore due to cancellations of planned tours by foreign travellers amid the drawn-out political violence, according to Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).

Banglalink, the second largest mobile operator, aims to log profit this year -- for the first time in its history, its chief executive said.

With the political crisis deepening, the apparel industry that accounts for 80 percent of the country's total exports is going through a critical phase. Losses are piling up every day due to a decline in orders from international retailers, order cancellation, soaring air freight charges, a production shortfall and higher transportation costs.

Export orders at Dhaka International Trade Fair 2015 rose 18.16 percent to Tk 95.05 crore from the previous year, despite blockades and strikes across the country enforced by the BNP-led alliance since January 6, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.

Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain yesterday pledged to announce an incentive package for the ailing real estate sector shortly.