The country鈥檚 internet penetration rate has seen a gradual decline in the latter half of 2024, falling from 80.60 per cent in August to 79.48 per cent in September and further down to 78.61 per cent in October, according to data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.
This metric, which reflects the proportion of the population with internet access, suggested a slowdown in the expansion of internet connectivity.
The decline indicates that while new users are being added, the rate of growth is not keeping pace with population increases or the demand for comprehensive internet coverage.
Mobile broadband subscriptions also witnessed a decrease during this period, dropping from 103.67 million in August to 102.39 million in September and then to 101.80 million in October.
This contraction suggests that some users may be transitioning away from mobile broadband.
According to experts, the shift is due to affordability issues and service quality.
Despite this dip in total subscriptions, 4G remains the dominant technology, with 10.81 crore subscribers in October, slightly down from 10.84 crore in September and 10.93 million in August.
This high adoption rate underscores the growing reliance on faster, more reliable internet services. In contrast, 3G subscribers continue to decline significantly, dropping from 49 lakh in August to 42.3 lakh by October-end, reflecting a gradual phasing out of older technologies in favour of 4G.
Fixed broadband services, which cater primarily to households and businesses, maintained a steady penetration rate of about 7.8 per cent throughout the period.
Even though the fixed broadband segment remains smaller than mobile broadband, it plays an essential role in ensuring stable and reliable connectivity for specific sectors.
Teledensity, a measure of total voice and internet subscriptions relative to the population, also recorded a slight decline, from 110.56 per cent in August to 109.02 per cent in October.
This aligns with the overall trend of declining internet penetration and mobile broadband subscriptions.