Number of mobile connections nears 18cr

The number of connections of the country’s four mobile phone operators increased by 16.7 lakh to 17.86 crore at the end of August, according to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission data.
The number of mobile internet connections also rose by 17.2 lakh in August.
The BTRC data showed that the number of mobile phone connections was 17.69 crore at the end of July.
According to BTRC officials, the number of active connections does not represent unique users rather it represents the number of SIMs issued by the telecom operators as the telecom rules allow an individual to buy up to 20 SIMs of the telecom operators.
Besides, many people use multiple connections for various reasons and thus the number of internet and mobile phone connections exceeded the total number of population in the country, the officials said.
They said that the number of internet and mobile phone connections would increase further as the use of internet-enabled smart devices, including internet of things, had gradually been gaining popularity.
Each of the smart devices would require internet connection, either broadband or mobile internet, to function, the officials said.
With the rapid growth of digital ecosystem, the people’s dependence on smart devices is growing fast where telecom and internet services are working as enabler, the officials said.
Leading telecom operator Grameenphone added 7 lakh subscribers in August to take its total connections to 8.32 crore in August from 8.25 crore connections in July.
In August, Robi Axiata’s connections increased to 5.23 crore, up 4.5 lakh on 5.18 crore a month ago.
The connection-base of Banglalink rose by 3.3 lakh to 3.69 crore in August from 3.65 in the previous month.
Of the four telecom operators, state-owned telecom operator Teletalk gained the least, 1.8 lakh connections, in August that made its total connections 62.7 lakh. The number of connections of the mobile operator was 60.9 lakh in the previous month.
The number of active internet connections in the country increased to 12.55 crore at the end of August from 12.37 crore a month ago.
Of the internet connections, the internet connection base of the telecom operators increased by 17.2 lakh to 11.54 crore in August from 11.37 crore in the previous month. The number of broadband internet connections, however, remained unchanged at 1.01 crore.