Telecom companies lost 3 lakh internet users in October

The number of active mobile internet users witnessed a dip in October as operators lost 3 lakh internet subscribers in the month.

According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) data released on Thursday, the country’s mobile internet users in October were 10.21 crore, which was 10.24 crore in September.

The country's total mobile internet users crossed the 10-crore mark for the first time in September.

Industry insiders said as people are more into the internet during the pandemic situation, they are opting for internet packages with longer validity.

"The trend we see is people choosing longer validity packs now. Whoever used to subscribe to 7-day packs are now using 30-day packs because of more dependence on the internet," a senior official of Banglalink told the Business Insider on Thursday.

People’s choice of longer validity packs may leave a negative impact on new subscriptions, he said.

Meanwhile, the country’s mobile phone operators added 9 lakh new subscribers in October, says BTRC.

The total number of mobile phone subscribers is 16.8 crore, which was 16.71 crore in September.

As per the BTRC data, leading mobile phone company Grameenphone added 6 lakh new subscribers in October, taking the total number of subscribers to 7.81 crore.

Robi, the second largest mobile phone operator, roped in 3 lakh new subscribers in the month, taking its total number of subscribers to 5.04 crore.

Banglalink’s total number of subscribers stood at 3.49 crore as the company added 2 lakh new subscribers in that month.

Teletalk, the state-run mobile phone operator, added 60,000 new subscribers over the one-month period, taking the company’s total number of subscribers to 46.18 lakh.

According to BTRC rules, subscriber means the biometric verified subscribers/subscriptions who had any activity (voice, data, SMS, etc.) at least once in the preceding 90 days.