Over 3.0m mobile, net subscribers drop out

Domestic digital divide is widening as all three private mobile network operators (MNOs) lost around two million mobile subscribers and over one million internet users in September, according to latest official data.

As per the statistics issued by Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Wednesday, the total number of customers in the country dropped by 2.15 million in September to 181.43 million. The number of subscribers was 183.58 million in August.

Industry-insiders say SIM sale ban on Grameenphone coupled with uncertain economic situation, fivefold increase in prices of SIM chip globally impacted the growth of subscribers.

The largest operator, Grameenphone, lost 1.2 million subscribers in September. The second-largest operator, Robi Axiata, lost 590,000 while third-largest Banglalink 420,000.

Only the government-owned Teletalk gained 6,000 subscribers in the month.

Grameenphone Head of Communications Khairul Basher said the overall growth of the telco industry slowed down due to the customer demand and supply shortage of GP SIM on the market due to an embargo on SIM sales.

"We believe the industry will be back into growth momentum once the ban is lifted, and customers will get connections from the most-preferred telecom brand in the country," he adds.

Chief Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Officer of Banglalink Taimur Rahman said it is true other operators aren't gaining from SIM ban on GP due to SIM-chip crisis globally.

He said in August new SIM sales increased due to Eid-ul-Azha in July.

"Data show SIM sales increase during Eid and next month it declines," he adds.

Taimur mentions that per-SIM chip price is now Tk70 while it was Tk 15 early this year. "This price rise has impacted global telco growth overall," he says.

In 2022, some 4.33 billion SIM cards will be shipped globally, down 8.5 per cent year on year, as the semiconductor industry continues to be plagued by a range of impactful influences, states ABI Research, a global technology intelligence firm.

COVID-19 challenges continue to linger, supply-chain constraints, the chip shortage, and increasing SIM card ASPs are now compounded by a new range of issues, most notably, inflation and the increasing likelihood of recession, impacting 2023 forecast expectations.

Many MNOs globally switched to e-SIM due to removable SIM chip shortage.

Grameenphone also introduced eSIM (embedded SIM) for its customers in the country few months back.

Meanwhile, the MNOs in Bangladesh lost 1.38 million internet subscribers in September to 114.74 million from 116.12 million.

However, broadband internet service providers and public-switched telephone network gained 440,000 subscribers in the period.

The country's total internet subscribers stood at 126.32 million in September from 127.26 million, the BTRC data show.

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