Top 5 telecom operators in Bangladesh in 2011

By Telecom Lead Team: 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.

(pls see chart at the end of the article)

According to a recent report
from marketresearch.com,
the operator’s blended ARPU fell to BDT257 from BDT270 in June 2011.

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.

In the quarter ended September 2011, the Bangladeshi government announced its
plans to auction 3G licences in September 2012. State-owned Teletalk has been
granted permission to trial the 3G technology.

The 2G licence renewal fees
for Bangladesh’s four mobile operators was seemingly settled in September 2011
after a year of negotiations with the regulator.

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