The Myth of 130 Million Internet Users: Why Data Remains a Luxury in Bangladesh

For years, Bangladesh has proudly touted grand statistics regarding its soaring number of internet users. Yet, a fundamental question remains deliberately unanswered: do these figures represent actual, individual internet users, or merely a tally of registered connections?

According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the country boasts nearly 130 million (13 crore) internet connections. Within this figure, mobile internet accounts for roughly 116 million, while broadband (ISP) connections stand at around 14 million. However, mapping connections to actual human beings is a deeply flawed methodology. A single individual often maintains multiple SIM cards. Furthermore, the regulatory definition of an "active subscriber" includes anyone who has used a mere kilobyte of data just once within a 90-day window. Consequently, there is a massive, unaddressed chasm between the total number of connections and actual, unique active users.

To understand the genuine trajectory of our digital progression, policymakers must transition away from empty connection metrics. Instead, we need transparent, publicly available data on unique subscribers, regular daily users, and per capita data consumption. Effective, long-term policymaking cannot be built on statistical smoke and mirrors.

The Emerging Digital Divide

More alarming is the recent decline in mobile internet subscriptions. A perfect storm of macroeconomic pressures—rampant inflation, diminishing consumer purchasing power, the skyrocketing prices of smartphones, aggressive taxation on mobile services, and convoluted data pricing—has forced a significant portion of the population to ration or completely halt their internet usage. Instead of digital inclusion, we are witnessing the resurgence of a stark digital divide.

Paradoxically, the technical and backend reality of the industry paints a completely different picture. Over the last few years, the wholesale price of international bandwidth has plummeted. Furthermore, major global content providers like Google, Meta, and YouTube have established localized cache servers directly within Bangladesh. Because the vast majority of popular content is now served locally, international bandwidth pressure has dropped significantly. This transition has drastically cut operational costs for network providers while boosting overall network efficiency.

The billion-dollar question then arises: if international infrastructure costs have crashed, why is the average consumer still paying exorbitant prices for mobile data?

The Economics Behind the Price Tag

The answer lies in a complex web of capital expenditures and heavy-handed taxation. Mobile network operators legitimately face substantial costs regarding spectrum licenses, tower infrastructure, electricity, network expansion, and constant maintenance. However, the silent killer of affordable internet is government taxation.

Consumers are heavily burdened by Value Added Tax (VAT), Supplementary Duty (SD), revenue-sharing mechanisms, and various regulatory fees built directly into every megabyte purchased. Yet, even when accounting for these overheads, there remains zero public transparency regarding just how much of the "infrastructure cost savings" are actually being passed down to the end-consumer versus being absorbed into corporate profit margins.

In this gridlock, the role of the government and the BTRC becomes paramount. A radical shift in perspective is required across four critical areas:

• Fiscal Reform: Internet access must stop being viewed as a luxury cash-cow for tax revenue. Instead, it must be legally and fiscally treated as core national infrastructure—the fundamental bedrock of economic and social development.

• Pricing Transparency: The BTRC must demystify mobile data pricing. A comprehensive, audited cost-modeling analysis—breaking down international bandwidth costs, domestic transmission fees, cache server savings, and true operator overheads—should be made entirely public.

• Granular Data Publishing: The regulator must regularly publish empirical reports detailing unique active users, average data speeds, quality of service (QoS) metrics, and regional price structures to foster data-driven policy adjustments.

• Vibrant Market Competition: Regulators must actively step in to eliminate monopolistic tendencies, protect consumer rights, and strictly penalize sub-par internet speeds and unresolved consumer grievances.

The foundational vision of a truly "Smart Bangladesh" cannot be achieved by artificially inflating connectivity numbers on a spreadsheet. True success will only be realized when every citizen, regardless of their socio-economic status, has seamless access to affordable, high-speed, and reliable internet. Today, internet access is no longer an optional luxury; it is the absolute baseline for modern education, healthcare, employment, and civic rights.

The time for celebrating paper victories is over. The government, the BTRC, mobile operators, ISPs, and consumer rights organizations must urgently collaborate to build a transparent, fiercely competitive, and genuinely consumer-centric digital ecosystem.

Writer: President, Bangladesh Muthophone Grahok Association