Mahmudul Hasan

US-Israel’s war on Iran has rattled global energy markets, and gig workers such as ride-sharing bikers and car drivers in Dhaka are feeling the strain on the streets.

From economic growth to artificial intelligence adoption, the new government views telecom and ICT as the foundation for Bangladesh’s development over the next three decades, according to Prime Minister’s Adviser Rehan Asad. 

Mobile operators have urged the government to ensure priority fuel supply and stable electricity for telecom infrastructure, warning that any possible shortages could disrupt nationwide connectivity.

The home ministry has decided to allow the National Telecommunications Monitoring Centre (NTMC) to continue operating for another year, even though the previous interim administration had moved to abolish the much-criticised surveillance agency.

Bangladesh’s telecom sector recorded a slight fall in total mobile phone subscribers in December 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier, due mainly to a drop in active connections after new limits on SIM ownership per individual.

Corporate rivalry in Bangladesh’s telecom sector is nothing new. Operators have long competed fiercely on price, network quality, and subscriber acquisition. But 2025 saw that rivalry erupt not through marketing campaigns, but through formal complaints, regulatory challenges, and court petitions.

Bangladesh’s information technology (IT) exports grew 13.54 percent in the first five months of fiscal year 2025-26, buoyed by accelerating global artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and the widening digitalisation of services, according to government data.

The government has directed the telecom regulator to allocate a majority share of the remaining 700 MHz spectrum to state-owned operator Teletalk Bangladesh, despite the company having more than Tk 5,500 crore in unpaid spectrum fees and other liabilities.