Internet and Mobile Users in Bangladesh: Statistics 2008

Since 2000 Internet and mobile phone users started increasing rapidly in Bangladesh, opening the scope of effective e-learning and m-learning in Bangladesh.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) recent report about the Internet usage and population statistics [1] is shown in Table 1. ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies. As the global focal point for governments and the private sector, ITU’s role in helping the world communicate spans 3 core sectors: radio communication, standardization and development.

Table 1. Internet Usage and Population Statistics

YEAR	Users	Population	% Pen.	Usage Source
2000	100,000	134,824,000	0.1 %	ITU
2007	450,000	137,493,990	0.3 %	ITU

While computer and Internet is costlier and satisfies less basic requirements of communication, mobile phone being cheaper and capable of satisfying more communication requirements could penetrate greater and is spreading in a faster rate. An online article [2] of Reuter (Thu May 15, 2008) came out on the topic “Cellphone users in Bangladesh on the rise.” This news reported, “Bangladesh’s six mobile phone operators added 1.41 million new subscribers in April, lifting the user base to 40.34 million, the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission data showed on Thursday. The number of mobile users rose nearly 58 percent in 2007 to 34.4 million, the telecoms regulator said, helped by competitive tariffs and cheap handsets. Several market surveys have forecast the number of mobile phone users will be around 70 million at the end of 2011. ”