Telcos' sales dip in Oct
Telecom sectors' sales declined in October, both in terms of data connections and new SIM subscriptions.
New data connections fell to six lakh in October from the previous six-month average of 15.72 lakh, according to data from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.
SIM sales fell to 5.6 lakh in October from the previous six-month average of 13.64 lakh, the data showed. The number was a two-year low.
Market operators attributed the drastic fall to the early effects of new SIM registration rules. Sales were impacted as far back as September, when only 5.93 lakh new SIMs were sold.
The government has introduced modern biometric technology for SIM registrations for the first time, which probably affected new acquisitions, said TIM Nurul Kabir, secretary general and chief executive of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh.
However, the process is good for the industry in the long-term, and acquisitions will stabilise after the transitional period, Kabir said. “The mobile telecom industry will overcome this soon.”
There are some 13.2 crore active SIMs in Bangladesh as of October.
Three out of the six mobile operators saw a fall in their subscriber acquisitions in October, according to the data.
Grameenphone, the market leader, scooped up some four lakh new subscribers in October, taking its total to 5.59 crore.
Airtel also gained, adding two lakh subscribers in October. The fourth-largest operator touched the 1 crore milestone in the first week of November.
However, second-largest operator Banglalink's total subscription shrank by about 16,000 to 3.26 crore in October. Robi lost a chunk, about one lakh customers, with its subscriber base falling to 2.82 crore. Citycell lost 26,000 customers in October.
However, state-run Teletalk added 33,000 new connections to reach 41.41 lakh users in total.
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