The number of mobile subscribers crossed the 8.5 crore mark in December last year, a 24 percent rise from the same month a year ago.
At least 1.64 crore new users were brought under the mobile network in the last one year.
According to the website of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, the number of subscribers was 8.4 crore in November and 1.63 lakh new subscribers were added in the month.
As the December figure is not available yet, the BTRC has put the figure of the month on the basis of a calculation of the previous months.
Leading operator Grameenphone still stays ahead with 3.61 crore users, while Banglalink has now 2.33 crore, Robi 1.58 crore, Airtel 58 lakh, Citycell 17.39 lakh and state-owned Teletalk 11.98 lakh.
However, second largest operator Banglalink added the highest number of subscribers in November at 6.86 lakh, beating its rival Grameenphone that roped in 4.22 lakh customers.
Robi netted three lakh customers, Airtel 2.31 lakh and Citycell 3,000 in the month. But Teletalk lost its 9,000 connections.
Abu Saeed Khan, secretary general of Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh, said mobile penetration is still not satisfactory as the network coverage is almost 100 percent but 50 percent population is still out of connectivity.
Moreover, the total subscription reflects connections or sold SIMs (subscriber identity module) only, not the number of people, he said.
Khan also said the growth in November last year is only 7 percent, which was 150 percent in the same month the previous year.
-With The Daily Star input
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