Mahmudul Hasan

The percentage of individuals aged over 15 who own a mobile phone was lower in 2023 than in 2020 as the decline in ownership during the Covid-19 pandemic persisted due to grim economic conditions.

Some customers of Teletalk will be able to use Banglalink’s network from today as part of a ‘pre-commercial launch’ of national roaming services, bringing relief to subscribers of the state-run operator whose network is hamstrung by weak power backup.

The new act will replace the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001.

A significant portion of Teletalk's mobile network towers lacks adequate battery backup systems, exacerbating customer frustrations with its unreliable service and contributing to a steady decline in its subscriber base.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) releases ICT Development Index 2023

Bangladesh needs to increase smartphone penetration among its mobile phone users as a prerequisite for the introduction of 5G technology, said Yasir Azman, chief executive officer of Grameenphone.

The telecom regulator is awarding cellular mobile service operator licences to mobile network operators, unifying the existing licences and setting the groundwork for the launch of 5G technology in the country.

Telecom operator Robi Axiata has launched Bangladesh’s first commercial Tier-IV data centre in a move to expand its portfolio and cater to the increasing need for data storage driven by surging internet usage amid digitalisation of services.

The mobile internet subscriber count in Bangladesh declined for a fifth straight month in January due to the regulator’s bar on the sale of packages with short validity periods, compounded by persistent inflationary pressure on consumers.

Daraz Group, Alibaba’s South Asian e-commerce arm that operates in five markets including Bangladesh, has announced that it will “bid farewell to many valued members” but stopped short of disclosing the number.

Bangladesh performed poorly in Ookla’ Speedtest Global Index in January, descending 7 spots from the 101st position to 108th in the mobile internet segment.

The internet regulator has allowed telecom operators in Bangladesh to provide fixed wireless access (FWA), enabling their users to get wifi connections without cables.

The government has developed three AI-based software promoting the Bengali language in the digital space, enabling users to convert Bengali text to speech and speech to text and extract text from images.

The telecom regulator of Bangladesh recently permitted two more local companies to manufacture and assemble mobile handsets, with the move coming amid a downturn in overall sales and production.

Nearly two years after the 5G spectrum auction, the telecom regulator issued a licensing guideline that would allow the carriers to roll out the technology within a year

The telecom regulator has sought consent from the government after Summit Communications Ltd applied to use Bangladesh as a transit point to supply bandwidth to the northeastern states of India.

Mobile operators in Bangladesh are now offering app stores, enabling developers to not only connect with users through secure distribution channels but also giving them the monetisation tools as they continually attempt to diversify their portfolio.

The mobile internet subscriber base in Bangladesh fell for four consecutive months until December last year as the regulator’s bar on purchasing short-term packages combined with inflationary pressures to impact consumers.

Information technology exports from Bangladesh dropped 4.4 percent in the first five months of the current fiscal year as the demand for software developers and products has fallen due to the lingering global economic slowdown.

Although private telecom operators excelled in expanding their subscriber base in 2023, state-run Teletalk saw its market share shrink to just 3.38 percent that year.