Grameenphone lost, Robi gained most users after launch of MNP services

Grameenphone, Bangladesh’s leading telecom operator by subscription, has lost the highest number of customers in the first three months since the launch of the mobile number portability or MNP services.

Robi, the second largest mobile phone operator in terms of customer base, has gained the highest number of users thanks to the MNP facility over the same period.

State-run Teletalk has the smallest subscriber base and also lost and gained the least number of users, according to data published by the regulators BTRC on Tuesday.

Over 100,000 users switched operators without changing the numbers by taking the MNP services in October, November and December last year.

Porting in October-December (2018)

Operator	Number of users left	Number of users joined	Total users (Dec end)
Grameenphone	49,658	10,491	72.7 million
Robi	18,228	72,005	46.8 million
Banglalink	32,256	22,325	33.5 million
Teletalk	2,293	1,522	3.854 million

A total of 49,658 Grameenphone users switched to other operators while 72,005 joined Robi in this period.

There were 156.9 million active mobile phone SIM cards in Bangladesh as of December last year and around half of them were Grameenphone connections.

The Grameenphone users have complained about a drop in the quality of services and call drops as the operator has not bought sufficient spectrum to cater for the huge number of subscribers.

The use of a mobile-phone number over a period of time makes it a part of an individual or organisation’s identity. But they often have to switch operators to take advantage of a better network or more competitive plans or offer.

Bangladesh-Slovenia joint venture Infozillion BD Teletech is working as the clearing house of the MNP services which were launched on Oct 1 last year.

The subscribers were being charged Tk 158, including Tk 50 in fees, replacement tax and VAT, for switching operator by keeping the number. The government on Monday cut the charge to Tk 58.