Biometric registration gives edge to GP, Banglalink

The government’s biometric registration programme has apparently given the edge to two of the largest mobile phone operators in the country and made things difficult for the rest.
Data provided by an industry insider and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) show that Grameenphone (GP) and Banglalink have gained significant market shares over the last month, since the biometric registration process ended.
Before the biometric registration process kicked off in April, the number of active subscribers of Grameenphone and Banglalink were 56.95 million and 32.148 million respectively, comprising around 43 per cent and 24 per cent respectively of the total subscriber base in the country.
After the biometric registration, GP’s market share has gone up by 3 per cent while Banglalink has increased by 1 per cent. Every other operator, including Robi, the third largest one, has lost at least 1 per cent of its subscriber base.
Now, Grameenphone has 54.15m subscribers with a market share of 46.31pc, Banglalink has 29.30m subscribers with a market share of 25pc, Robi has 23.45m subscribers with a market share of 20.05pc, Airtel has 7.4m subscribers with a market share of 6.3pc, Teletalk has 2.5m subscribers with a market share of 2.13pc, and City Cell has only 2,20,000 subscribers with a market share of 0.2pc.
Before the biometric registration, Robi had 27.61m subscribers with a 21pc market share, Airtel had 10.10m subscribers with 8pc share, Teletalk had 4.3m subscribers with a market share of 3pc and City Cell had 0.7m subscribers with a 1 per cent market share.
BTRC chairman Sahjahan Mahmud told The Independent yesterday that it should be remembered that the government would earn the maximum revenues from GP. On the other hand, the industry insider pointed out that the biometric registration process was destroying the level playing field for operators. Two years ago, the government planned to formulate the Market Competition Act to ensure level playing field among mobile phone operators. It has not yet been finalised, sources said.
According to the last financial reports, of the six mobile operators, only Grameenphone and Robi are making profits.

 

Biometric registration gives edge to GP, Banglalink

The governments biometric registration programme has apparently given the edge to two of the largest mobile phone operators in the country and made things difficult for the rest. Data provided by an industry insider and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) show that Grameenphone (GP) and Banglalink have gained significant market shares over the last month, since the biometric registration process ended. Before the biometric registration process kicked off in April, the number of active subscribers of Grameenphone and Banglalink were 56.95 million and 32.148 million respectively, comprising around 43 per cent and 24 per cent respectively of the total subscriber base in the country. After the biometric registration, GPs market share has gone up by 3 per cent while Banglalink has increased by 1 per cent. Every other operator, including Robi, the third largest one, has lost at least 1 per cent of its subscriber base. Now, Grameenphone has 54.15m subscribers with a market share of 46.31pc, Banglalink has 29.30m subscribers with a market share of 25pc, Robi has 23.45m subscribers with a market share of 20.05pc, Airtel has 7.4m subscribers with a market share of 6.3pc, Teletalk has 2.5m subscribers with a market share of 2.13pc, and City Cell has only 2,20,000 subscribers with a market share of 0.2pc. Before the biometric registration, Robi had 27.61m subscribers with a 21pc market share, Airtel had 10.10m subscribers with 8pc share, Teletalk had 4.3m subscribers with a market share of 3pc and City Cell had 0.7m subscribers with a 1 per cent market share. BTRC chairman Sahjahan Mahmud told The Independent yesterday that it should be remembered that the government would earn the maximum revenues from GP. On the other hand, the industry insider pointed out that the biometric registration process was destroying the level playing field for operators. Two years ago, the government planned to formulate the Market Competition Act to ensure level playing field among mobile phone operators. It has not yet been finalised, sources said. According to the last financial reports, of the six mobile operators, only Grameenphone and Robi are making profits.