Global football tournament fever has delivered a powerful boost to digital connectivity across Bangladesh. Industry experts have linked a significant rise in internet subscriptions directly to soaring data usage during the tournament, alongside a handful of other seasonal factors.
Official data published by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) indicates that total internet subscriptions jumped by 5.08 million between January and May, climbing to a total of 134.1 million. Over the same period, the count for active mobile phone connections rose by 2.8 million to reach 188.6 million.
Market insiders noted that web traffic climbed dramatically as millions of sports fans turned to their mobile screens to watch live matches. This sustained online engagement also benefited from a reliable and steady national electricity supply.
Beyond the football stadium drama, the industry capitalised on increased digital interactions during the recent Eid holidays, widespread online work linked to the ongoing Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations, and the complete cancellation of the 300 Taka mobile SIM card levy, which encouraged consumers to buy new connections.
Robi Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Shahed Alam, explained that the ongoing tournament has combined with these distinct seasonal trends to propel a massive expansion in network traffic. He revealed that the country experienced the second-largest web traffic spike in its history during the intense quarter-final match between Argentina and Switzerland.
Alam highlighted the permanent removal of the SIM card connection tax as a primary catalyst for expanding the user base. He voiced optimism that this legislative change would continue to yield positive expansion metrics throughout June and the latter half of the year.
According to the regulatory figures, mobile internet continues to be the overwhelming preference for citizens, making up roughly 89 percent of all active web connections. Out of the 134.1 million users counted at the end of May, 119.1 million accessed the web via mobile subscriptions. Meanwhile, 14.9 million relied on fixed-line broadband options set up by internet service providers and public data networks.
The data confirms that the mobile sector accounts for almost all the fresh growth, with mobile data users expanding by nearly 4.9 million connections since the start of the year. By contrast, fixed-line home and business broadband remained flat for the first few months before nudging up slightly in April and holding steady through May.
The industry did see a brief contraction in February when total internet subscriptions dipped to 128.2 million as mobile connections took a temporary hit. However, the sector bounced back strongly in March, keeping up a steady upward trajectory through April and May.
This steady increase represents a solid recovery for the domestic mobile sector following a prolonged decline that began in the autumn of 2025, when user numbers fell from a high of 188.5 million down to the January low.
Grameenphone remains the undisputed market leader in the country, boasting 85.9 million active connections at the close of May. Robi Axiata holds the second position with 58.2 million, followed by Banglalink at 37.7 million.
State-run operator Teletalk was the lone service provider to suffer a decline during the five-month monitoring window, with its connection base shrinking slightly to 6.81 million.
Under the criteria used by the BTRC, a mobile connection is classified as active if the SIM card has registered at least one voice call, text message, or internet session within the past 90 days.
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