Grameenphone, Banglalink and Robi, the country's top three mobile operators, registered 40 percent growth in combined data revenue in the first half of 2016 -- a development that bodes well for the Digital Bangladesh cause.

Between January and June, the three operators, which control up to 90 percent of the market, altogether raked in Tk 1,014 crore from data services.

Data services constituted about 10 percent of the three operators' revenue during the period, up from 7.07 percent a year earlier.

Of the three operators, Robi's data revenue is growing slightly faster than the other two; it accounted for about 12 percent of the operator's revenues in the first half of the year.

As of June, the total number of active mobile internet connections stood at six crore in contrast to 4.69 crore a year earlier, according to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.

Market leader Grameenphone's data revenue is growing fast due to heavy investment in 3G technology, a rise in the number of subscribers and increased smartphone penetration, said Nehal Ahmed, the operator's senior director for communications.

"The average data consumption per user sees significant growth over time, fuelled by access to a wide range of digital lifestyle solutions, social media and other applications," he added.

As of June, Grameenphone has 2.18 active mobile internet customers, who consume 517MB of data on average every month. The average data volume was only 301MB a year earlier, according to its annual quarterly report.

In the first six months of the year, Grameenphone logged in Tk 5,570 crore in total revenue, with data services accounting for 8.98 percent of the sum. A year earlier, data services' share of the total revenue was 6.62 percent.

Banglalink, the second largest operator, earned Tk 223 crore from the data segment in the first half of the year, which is 9.2 percent of its total income, according to the company's published report.

Data services accounted for 6.03 percent of the operator's total revenue of Tk 2,320 crore a year earlier.

Robi earned Tk 291 crore from data services in the first half of the year, which was Tk 226 crore a year earlier.

The operators have been offering smart data packages in recent months attracting warm responses from customers.

At the same time, the prices of smartphones have also come down, said a top official of the telecom regulator.

"The rise in data earnings means we are moving toward a digital society," said the official.

Bangladesh has about 2.2 crore Facebook accounts, who belong to the top revenue-generating segment, industry insiders said.

Besides, services like entertainment, health and education can also be found on the mobile platform currently.

Despite a shortage of local contents, some new initiatives are being taken for entertainment and education, which are helping operators generate more revenue, they said.

However, the operators' gross revenue did not get the same boost during the period: it increased 1.45 percent year-on-year to Tk 10,417 crore.

The other three other operators -- Teletalk, Airtel and Citycell -- do not disclose their revenues to the public. Of them, Teletalk and Airtel offer 3G services.

Airtel, which is very close to merging with Robi, has around 30 lakh 3G connections and Teletalk 15 lakh.

Citycell, the oldest operator in Bangladesh, has very few customers.