Mahmudul Hasan

The service is priced at Tk 175 per hour during the day and Tk 225 per hour at night

Bangladesh’s mobile operators have warned of an imminent nationwide telecom disruption as a deepening electricity and fuel crisis pushes networks to the brink, raising serious concerns over the vulnerability of data centres and the wider digital economy.

How many people know that one can switch operators in Bangladesh without losing one’s mobile number? Not many.

A sharp digital divide continues to shape Bangladesh’s connectivity landscape, with a 32.1 percentage points gap in internet use between rural and urban populations in the fiscal year 2024-25, according to the latest Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) survey.

The telecom regulator has decided to allocate spectrum from the 850 MHz and Extended GSM (EGSM) bands for a month-long trial to examine potential interference between the two frequencies.

The figure represents nearly a third of the country’s $54.8 billion in total exports recorded in 2023

Elon Musk’s Starlink has received a lukewarm response in Bangladesh in the first eight months since its launch in the country, as prices up to ten times higher than local broadband fail to attract subscribers.

Global telecom investor Veon plans to introduce direct-to-cell satellite connectivity in Bangladesh, allowing smartphones to connect straight to satellites through a partnership with Starlink and its subsidiary, Banglalink.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has approved a proposal from mobile operators to test a new system that would allow citizens to register SIM cards using real-time facial “liveness” verification.

Bangladesh also risks falling out of step with Asia-Pacific spectrum plans by opening the entire 6 GHz band for unlicensed use

Bangladesh’s internet subscriber base has been on the decline for the last six consecutive months till January, with around 70 lakh users dropping off the network since August last year, mainly due to a steady fall in mobile internet subscriptions.

Clothing sales at fashion retailers started off strong before facing a slowdown over the last few days this Eid-ul-Fitr season amid broader economic uncertainty triggered by the United States and Israel’s war on Iran.

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.