Telecom Lead Asia: Bangladesh is planning to impose 2
percent tax on mobile phone bills.
The tax on mobile-phone bills will further punish the
mobile industry,” said Abu Saeed Khan, secretary general of the Association of
Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh had almost 91 million mobile subscribers at
the end of April, according to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory
Authority.
Top 5 telecom operators in Bangladesh in 2011
The total number of mobile phone active subscribers in
Bangladesh has reached 85.45 million at the end of December 2011.
The Telenor Group owned Grameen Phone is leading the
mobile market with 36.49 million mobile users, while the second largest player
is Banglalink with 23.75 million users.
Robi Axiata has 16.13 million users. Airtel Bangladesh
has 6.02 million users. Citycell and Teletalk have 1.82 million and 1.21
million users, respectively.
Marketresearch.com forecasts 158.94 million subscribers
in Bangladesh telecom market at the end of 2016, with a penetration rate of
99.2 percent.
It forecasts 9.71 million internet users and 4.72 million
broadband (fixed and mobile) subscribers in Bangladesh at the end of
2016.
The Bangladeshi telecoms industry has been a significant
revenue contributor to the government’s coffers through initiatives such as
revenue-sharing and the social obligation fund. However, recent decisions by
the government suggest it is trying to squeeze more out of the operators,
especially considering that many firms are backed by major international
telecoms firms.
editor@telecomlead.com
