Bangladesh broadband internet connections increase by 65pc during pandemic

The number of broadband internet connections in Bangladesh has increased by more than 65 percent in the 10 months of the coronavirus pandemic from March to December 2020.

The number of broadband internet connections was 5.7 million in February last year before the onset of the outbreak, according to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission or BTRC.

The number reached 9.7 million in December after growing much faster than the previous years, as the people hunkered down at home, doing most of the jobs online.

The educational institutions held classes online while many job holders and businessmen held meetings over the internet. Many resorted to online shopping to avoid gatherings.

MA Hakim, president of Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh or ISPAB, believes the demand for broadband internet increased due to the change in lifestyle of people.

Many favoured broadband connections over mobile internet to cut the cost, he said.

The number of broadband connections increased in district and Upazila levels as well while the services were mainly based in the urban areas earlier, Hakim said.

The number of mobile internet users jumped to 102.3 million in December 2020 from 93.6 million in the same month of 2019, according to the BTRC.

The mobile phone subscription increased to 170.1 million in December 2020 from 165.5 million in December 2019.

The subscriber base of Grameenphone was 79 million by the end of last year, Robi 50.9 million, Banglalink 35.2 million ad Teletalk 4.9 million.