The number of mobile subscribers dropped by 12 lakh to 18.75 crore in December last year, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline, according to the latest data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

Between July and December, mobile operators collectively lost a staggering 75 lakh customers.

The overall mobile subscriber count is determined by subtracting the number of deactivated SIMs—those left unused for over 18 months—from the total number of new SIM purchases.

Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer of Robi, attributed the downturn to an increase in SIM taxation at the beginning of the fiscal year, which rose from Tk 200 to Tk 300.

Between July and December last year, mobile operators collectively lost a staggering 75 lakh customers

He explained that the higher cost of SIM cards has discouraged consumers from acquiring multiple connections.

"This further complicates efforts to connect marginalised communities," he remarked, stressing that rising costs have deterred many individuals from securing essential access to alternative communication channels.

Among the operators, Banglalink saw the sharpest decline, losing approximately 7.5 lakh customers in December, bringing its total subscriber base down to 3.97 crore.

Robi, the country's second-largest operator, lost 4 lakh subscribers, reducing its customer base to 5.71 crore.

Grameenphone, the market leader, experienced a decline of 30,000 subscribers, bringing its total to 8.45 crore.

Meanwhile, the number of subscribers of state-owned Teletalk remained unchanged at 65.6 lakh.

According to Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics, a project run by the state-run Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the percentage of individuals aged over 15 who own a mobile phone was lower in 2023 than in 2020.

This was attributed to a persistent decline in ownership since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic due to grim economic conditions.

In 2023, only 74.2 percent of individuals aged 15 and older owned a mobile phone, marking a slight decline from the 75.4 percent ownership rate reported in 2020.

At the peak of the pandemic in 2021, mobile phone ownership among these individuals fell by 4.1 percentage points to 71.3 percent.

It then rebounded by 2.5 percentage points in 2022. However, last year saw a modest increase of only 0.4 percentage points as the country struggled with ongoing high inflation.

A significant finding of the Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics is the gender gap in mobile phone usage.

While 86 percent of males reported owning a mobile phone, only 62.8 percent of females did, revealing a disparity of 23.2 percentage points.

This gap highlights a serious inequality in access to mobile technology between genders, signalling the need for targeted efforts to address the underlying causes and promote equal access to mobile devices across all groups.