The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects the total number of mobile phone users in Bangladesh to double in the next two years as competition heats up in the fast growing sector. "The number of subscribers doubled in one year - up from 11 million in 2006 to about 22 million in March 2007, and is forecast to increase to 44 million by 2009," the ADB said in a report released on May 15.
It said that mobile telecommunications had become one of the most vibrant service sectors in Bangladesh with its growing network coverage, which reaches about 97 percent of the country's population and 82 percent of the land area.
Healthy competition among five operators has significantly reduced tariff rates in the past couple of years, it said.
The mobile operators are: Grameenphone, majority owned by Norway's Telenor; Aktel, majority owned by Telekom Malaysia International; Banglalink, owned by Egyptian Orascom Telecom; Citycell, a joint venture between Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited and Singapore's SingTel, and state-run Teletalk. A sixth operator, Warid Telecom, a subsidiary of Gulf-based Abu Dhabi Group, launched its service in Bangladesh on May 10.
Although nearly half of Bangladesh's more than 140 million people still live on less than a dollar a day, the country has been one of Asia's fastest growing cellular markets, with a mobile penetration rate of around 16 percent.
The ADB report said availability of phones in rural areas has created new opportunities for income generation through self-employment by providing villagers with access to modern information and communication technologies. It suggested the community information services network should be broadened nation-wide to cater to the huge information needs of rural subscribers.
These outlets, equipped with computers, printers, and Internet access, can be used as expat workers' remittance distribution centres to strengthen the flow of remittances through legal channels.
"The Philippines has been a major success in implementing a mobile phone-based remittance distribution system, which can be remodelled in Bangladesh," the report said.
Comments
Comments are closed.