Robi Axiata in Bangladesh is partnering with Opera Sofware and a local online marketplace to offer users 5MB of free internet when they use the Opera Mini browser.

To take up the offer, Robi customers need to click on the ‘Free Internet Coupon’ icon from Opera Mini, which will open the activation page from where users can activate the 5MB coupon, sponsored by Bikroy.com, the largest online marketplace in Bangladesh.

More than 95 per cent of all internet users in the country access the web using mobile devices, according to the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission. The idea behind the offer is to make data plans easier to understand and more convenient to purchase.

Robi COO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed said Robi is exploring ways to make it more convenient for subscribers to access data at an affordable price. “We are confident users will be able to experience quality internet service over our strong 3.5G network across the country.”

The operator, the country’s third largest mobile player with a 21 per cent market share, said users also can purchase internet coupons using the browser.

Opera said operators can use its Opera Web Pass to flexibly package their data offerings, which customer can access with just a few clicks. Web Pass supports sponsors, so operators can find advertisers to underwrite the cost of data packages to give users free access to the mobile internet in exchange for interacting with ads from the sponsors.

The company said its browser runs on almost all types of phones, from basic Java phones to the latest Android and iOS smartphones. The company said in a statement that its Opera Mini compression technology shrinks webpages to as little as 10 per cent of their original size, which means users can browse more within a set data limit compared with those using other mobile browsers.