Mobile subscriber numbers witnessed growth in May thanks to a strong performance by the top operator, Grameenphone.

The three private mobile network operators -- Grameenphone, Robi and Banglalink -- collectively added over 9 lakh customers, taking the total to 18.51 crore.

This is the fifth consecutive month that mobile subscriber numbers have grown in Bangladesh.

This was also the fifth consecutive month of growth witnessed by Grameenphone after months of downturn from July to December last year due to a ban on its SIM sales.

Three private mobile operators -- Grameenphone, Robi and Banglalink -- collectively added over 9 lakh customers in May.

On June 29 last year, the telecom regulator banned Grameenphone's SIM sales until it "improves its quality of service, including bringing down the call drop rate". The ban was eventually lifted on January 2 this year.

Grameenphone added 6.5 lakh subscribers in May to take its total to 8.12 crore. This was the highest gain registered by the telecom operator in the last five months.

But still, the figures could not touch Grameenphone's all-time high customer number, which was about 8.50 crore in May last year.

During the six-month ban, it lost almost 5 million customers, taking a toll on the country's total mobile subscriber base.

And despite a strong performance by the third-placed Banglalink, the country's overall subscriber base had declined by over 35 lakh.

Here, a subscriber refers to each biometric verified customer or subscription that was active (voice, data, SMS etc) at least once in the preceding 90 days.

Of the more than 18 crore SIMs now in circulation, 12 crore are of unique users, Telecom Minister Mustafa Jabbar told The Daily Star recently. Each person can use as many as 15 SIMs.

The second-largest operator, Robi Axiata, added 2 lakh customers month-on-month in May to 5.59 crore.

"We are delighted to see positive growth in customer acquisition, reflecting our continuous effort to improve the quality of services," said Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer at Robi Axiata.

"We will continue our efforts for maintaining the best quality of service parameters," he added.

In a recent conversation with The Daily Star, Alam noted that the market has now turned into a highly competitive one as everyone is vying for customers.

Banglalink added about one lakh customers in May, taking its total customers base to 4.14 crore.

But on a year-on basis, it witnessed the highest growth among operators in May, with 8.30 per cent.

"We have been focusing on providing best network experience towards our customers for the last one-and-a-half years after having invested heavily on spectrum and through network expansion," said Taimur Rahman, chief corporate and regulatory affairs officer at Banglalink.

"Our primary goal is to ensure a good experience for our customers through providing quality traditional telecom and digital services," he added.

State-owned Teletalk lost about 30,000 customers that month, taking its total to 65.4 lakh. The operator has been losing customers every month since September last year despite deploying 4G networks through government-funded projects.