Internet usage by way of the faster third generation mobile telephony technology data has finally got the traction befitting of the investment made by the operators as people are progressively becoming habituated to digital services.
As of June, the total active 3G SIMs stood at 4.97 crore, up 72.60 percent year-on-year, according to the draft of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's annual report, which will be published shortly.
Subsequently, total number of SIMs that have not connected with the internet or are only using 2G internet has declined markedly.
As of June this year, 72.35 percent of the 6.87 crore active SIMs with internet connection was enjoying the fastest data service, according to the report.
As of June, the total active SIMs were 13.60 crore.
In contrast, a year earlier, 48.28 percent of the 5.97 crore active SIMs with internet connection was enjoying 3G service. In June 2015, the 3G usage was only 37.19 of the total internet customers then.
But the mobile operators are still not satisfied with the development.
The telecom industry did not get as much business as they had expected from 3G services, said top officials of different mobile operators.
“Our 3G network coverage is more than 60 percent of the population, but we are getting only few customers for those services,” said Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, chief executive officer and managing director of Robi.
The industry as a whole invested Tk 32,000 crore for 3G but total revenue from this segment was only Tk 6,000 crore up to December, Ahmed said recently.
Users are currently using high volumes of data, which is encouraging for the mobile operators, said Mahmud Hossain, chief corporate affairs officer of Grameenphone.
Grameenphone's per customer data usage in a month, as of September, stood at 754 MB, Banglalink's 523 MB and Robi's 465 MB as of March.
“At Grameenphone, we are happy that the industry is moving fast. The numbers look good, but it could have been even more handsome if some necessary issues were addressed, with handset being the number one concern.” Handset is crucial for the enjoyment of 3G service, he said.
At present, only 30 percent of the handsets in Bangladesh are smartphones that can used for 3G data.
“And the growth of smartphones is not satisfactory,” he said, adding that the frequent increase in taxes on handset import is to blame.
Alternatively, if the government allowed the mobile operators to import handsets directly, it would have had a huge impact on the market, he said.
However, data users and experts remain unimpressed about the quality of 3G service in Bangladesh, which could explain the below-par growth in numbers.
“The huge number of 3G customers does not give you the right information about service quality,” said Mustafa Jabbar, president of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services.
The services that customers are getting as 3G from the operators are terrible, he said.
“The operators are offering data in megabytes but what users are getting is only a few kilobytes,” he added.
Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/3g-internet-finally-gets-momentum-1496500