Over the last two to three years, the number of mobile subscribers in Bangladesh have been doubling on an annual basis. By end-2007, the subscriber base had reached 34 million and was continuing to grow at an annual rate of around 60%. With the momentum that has been developed on the back of the government’s deregulation process, the strong growth seemed likely to continue. The entry of new operators into the market has certainly helped to further boost the competitive environment.
The major operators are Grameenphone, Banglalink, CityCell and Teletalk.
Grameenphone, is the main player in Bangladesh’s mobile phone market with more than 20.8 million users followed by Banglalink, the No. 2 Bangladesh mobile phone carrier, with more than 10 million subscribers after rising 41 percent since January.
Notable highlights of the Bangladesh Mobile Forecast include:
- Total subscribers in Bangladesh will increase from the projected 47.4 million in 2008 to 58 million in 2010. It is therefore, forecasted that the level of wireless penetration will increase steadily in Bangladesh from 29% in 2008 to 35% in 2010.
- The level of competition in the wireless market will continue to increase, and the HHI index will go down to 0.296 in 2010. Major operators in the country will be losing subscribers to Warid.
- The largest operator in the country will continue to be GrameenPhone (Telenor), but its market share (by subscribers) will decrease from 45.5% to 43.3% in the forecast period, 2008 - 2010.




