Internet subscriber base sees massive boost

The number of internet subscribers in Bangladesh spiked by a massive 43.5 lakh in March, the biggest jump in recent years, with mobile data users making up a bulk of the new customers.

There were about 13.47 crore internet users in March, up from 13.03 crore previously, according to the latest data of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

Of the 43.5 lakh new subscribers, 36 lakh are mobile internet users with their numbers growing to 12.12 crore in March from 11.74 crore in February.

This is the highest growth since at least August 2021 as data prior to that is not available on the BTRC website.

The mobile internet subscriber count increased in the consecutive two months since February.

However, the subscriber number had declined for five months straight till January amid the regulator's bar on the sale of packages with short validity periods while persistent inflationary pressure also affected their demand.

But the officials of mobile network operators said the growth has not translated into revenue growth.

"The internet consumer base has shifted to lower pricing tiers, and data revenue in the industry has continued to decline in recent months," said Shahed Alam, the chief corporate and regulatory officer of Robi.

Most new internet users are secondary SIM subscribers who try different operators to find the cheaper data services, he added.

On a year-on-year basis, the number of internet subscribers increased by 6.81 percent in March.

Meanwhile, the broadband internet subscriber base increased by around 7 lakh month-on-month in March to 1.23 crore.

Broadband subscribers account for 9.98 percent of the country's total internet subscriber base. The rest avail mobile internet.

The BTRC provides broadband internet subscriber information on a quarterly basis. It calculates broadband subscriber information through market analysis, consultation and data collection from almost all internet service providers.