Country overview: Bangladesh

Mobile industry driving growth and enabling digital inclusion

GSMA Intelligence is today publishing the latest in its country overview series. The report is the second part of a deep dive into the mobile industry of Bangladesh that examines the key challenges to digital inclusion and the public policy implications to support achievement of the country’s national development plan (Vision 2021) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The mobile industry in Bangladesh has scaled rapidly to become the fifth largest in Asia Pacific, with 85 million unique subscribers, accounting for half of the population. However, with a predominantly 2G mobile market, the country faces a significant digital divide, with only one in five Bangladeshis subscribed to mobile internet services.

In this latest report, we examine in detail mobile market dynamics in Bangladesh and consider the key barriers to mobile internet adoption, with a particular focus on infrastructure and affordability challenges. Finally, we look at how modernising the regulatory environment can help bring further benefits to consumers and the wider economy.

This report follows on from the December 2017 report, “Bangladesh: Driving mobile-enabled digital transformation”, which looked at the positive impact mobile technology can have in areas such as basic and digital literacy skills, agricultural productivity, financial inclusion and health. It also examined how mobile technology can accelerate Bangladesh’s progress towards attainment of the SDGs and its Vision 2021.