The GSMA today revealed the positive impact of mobile on the Bangladeshi economy and the potential for even further growth and innovation. According to GSMA Intelligence, mobile technologies and services generated 6.2 per cent of the country’s GDP in 2015, a contribution that amounted to around US$13 billion of economic value1. In the same year, mobile operators and the ecosystem provided employment to more than 760,000 people across Bangladesh2.
Bangladesh performs close to the regional averages across metrics of mobile market development, despite a lower income than neighbouring countries. Bangladesh is above the Asian average in terms of unique subscriber market penetration at 53 per cent3, while only slightly below with regard to mobile internet penetration at 33 per cent and 3G at 20 per cent of all mobile connections. There is the potential for further growth if a supportive policy environment is put in place.
“GSMA Intelligence findings clearly demonstrate the substantial contribution that mobile makes to the Bangladeshi economy,” said Brett Tarnutzer, Head of Spectrum, GSMA. “By systematically pursuing a policy framework that increases certainty, acknowledges market realities and removes regulatory barriers to investment and innovation, the Bangladeshi Government and its citizens stand to achieve so much in the coming years.”
In terms of public contribution, the mobile ecosystem generated about 10 per cent of the Bangladeshi Government’s revenue in 2015, valued at US$2.42 billion through general taxation, mobile-specific taxes and spectrum licences.
Looking Ahead to 2020
GSMA Intelligence expects that the economic contribution of the mobile industry in Bangladesh will continue to increase. In value-added terms, it is estimated that the ecosystem will generate US$17 billion by 2020. This forecast relies on a favourable macroeconomic environment and on a moderate expansion in demand and supply in the mobile market, as the number of mobile internet users and mobile coverage both increase.
Employment opportunities are also set to expand from 780,000 jobs in 2016 to 850,000 jobs in 2020, an increase of around nine per cent during that period. Further growth in Bangladesh will be driven by two key developments:
Operators will continue to create most value in the ecosystem, followed by distribution and retail and then the infrastructure sector, with the expectation that the contribution from content and services will increase; and
Productivity will be increasingly driven by the mobile internet, as a result of coverage improvements and growing user adoption. This will be highly transformative considering the low level of fixed internet connectivity in Bangladesh, which means that the mobile internet will be the primary means for unconnected populations to access the internet.
“The amount of spectrum, and the terms on which it is made available, fundamentally drive the cost, range and availability of mobile services. To ensure that this mobile vision becomes a reality, it is imperative that the spectrum is allocated in a way that encourages rapid deployment of mobile broadband infrastructure, resulting in high quality, affordable mobile services for consumers across Bangladesh,” added Tarnutzer.
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/gsma-reveals-economic-impact-mobile-073000981.html