Internet users in Bangladesh cross 60 million, says telecoms regulator

The number of internet users in Bangladesh has now crossed 60 million, according to the latest figures by the telecoms regulator.

By the end of March this year internet penetration was 61.28 million, up from 58.3 million in February and 56.16 million in January, says Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

During a span of one year since March last year, the number of internet users registered a 38 percent increase.

BTRC data shows that most of the users in Bangladesh access internet through mobile phones.

Operator	Mar 2015	Jan 2016	Feb 2016	Mar 2016
Mobile phones	43.167	53.431	55.512	58.045
WiMAX	0.208	0.143	0.136	0.131
ISP and PSTN	1.250	2.594	2.669	3.112
Total	44.625	56.167	58.317	61.288

Source: BTRC (in millions)

An increase in internet subscribers for ISPs and PSTNs (public switched telephone network) has been recorded while users have lost interest in WiMAX-based services.

“The people in Bangladesh are now using more data services and we hope it will increase in future,” BTRC Secretary Md Sarwar Alam told bdnews24.com.

Meanwhile, the number of mobile phone subscribers has trickled down.

In March, the figure stood at 130.881 million, down from 137.72 million in December last year.

BTRC derives the figures from data of SIM cards sold by the six operators in Bangladesh, but not all of them are active.

Number of mobile phone subscribers
Dec 2015	Jan 2016	Feb 2016	Mar 2016
133.720	131.956	131.085	130.881

Source: BTRC (in millions)

Operators say that around 80 million SIMs are currently active.

The government has initiated re-registering of SIM cards with subscriber’s biometric details. It plans to end the process by April.

Unregistered SIMs would be deactivated after the expiry of the deadline, State Minister for Telecoms Tarana Halim has said.