World Telecommunication Day Observed: Rural users connected on paper, divided in practice

Bangladesh observes World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on Sunday (17 May) with one of South Asia’s largest mobile subscriber bases, but the country’s latest ICT data shows a stubborn reality: millions of rural users still struggle to get reliable, affordable and meaningful internet access.

This year’s global theme, set by the International Telecommunication Union, is “Digital lifelines: Strengthening resilience in a connected world,” highlighting the need for networks that can withstand shocks and keep people connected when it matters most.

Bangladesh’s connectivity numbers appear impressive at first glance.

According to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission data reported by BSS, the country had 18.60 crore mobile subscribers and 12.96 crore internet subscribers at the end of March 2026.

Of the internet subscribers, 11.48 crore used mobile internet, while 1.47 crore used ISP and PSTN services.

But subscriber growth does not automatically mean quality access. A Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics survey on ICT use shows a wide

rural-urban gap in individual internet use.

While 75.7 percent of people in urban areas use the internet, the rate in rural areas is only 43.6 percent, creating a 32.1 percentage-point gap.

Nationally, 53.4 percent of the population uses the internet, according to the survey.

The challenge is not only coverage; affordability remains a major barrier.

The same BBS survey found that 43.6 percent of respondents who did not use the internet cited the high cost of service as a reason.

This suggests that for many rural households, internet access is still a financial choice rather than a basic utility.

The digital divide becomes clearer when device and skill indicators are considered.

BBS data shows that although 98.9 percent of households have access to mobile phones, personal ownership is lower, and computer use remains only 11.3 percent.

The survey also found that internet use among males stands at 56.6 percent, compared with 50.2 percent among females.

Quality of service is another weak point. Data Reportal’s Digital 2026 report, citing Ookla figures, says Bangladesh’s median mobile internet download speed was 36.84 Mbps at the end of 2025, while median fixed internet download speed was 60.26 Mbps.

The same report estimated that 93.4 million people in Bangladesh were still offline at the end of 2025.

User-experience data also points to uneven performance across operators.

Opensignal’s January 2026 Bangladesh report found mobile download speed experience ranging from 15.6 Mbps to 25.4 Mbps among operators during the October-December 2025 assessment period.

Its “consistent quality” score, which reflects whether networks can support common tasks such as video calls or uploads without noticeable slowdown, ranged from 15.5 percent to 51.7 percent of tests depending on operator.

For rural users, where mobile internet is often the main gateway to online education, mobile banking, telemedicine, agricultural information and government services, weak quality can mean exclusion even when a network signal exists.

Slow speed, unstable connections, low device ownership and high data cost together limit the promise of digital services outside major urban centres.

Mohiuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumer Association (BMPCA) told to The New Nation, The current government’s promise made by the Prime Minister is to provide high-speed internet to the marginalized population.

“This is the commitment of the current government and we hope that the government will implement its commitment.”

Director General of the Department of Information and Communication Technology, ICT (Additional Charge), Mohammad Saiful Hasan (Joint Secretary) told the New Nation that the implementation of the Digital Connectivity (EDC) project under the Department of Information and Communication Technology is underway to establish 1,09,244 high-speed internet connections in various government and private institutions across the country.

Out of which, 57,000 connections have already been established.

Bangladesh’s ICT Development Index score also shows room for improvement.

According to BSS, the country scored 64.9 in the ICT Development Index 2025, below the global average of 78 and behind neighbours including Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

As Telecommunication Day is observed, the key question for Bangladesh is no longer only how many SIMs or internet subscriptions exist.

The bigger test is whether a student in Kurigram, a farmer in Panchagarh, a woman entrepreneur in a village market or a health worker in a remote union can access fast, affordable and dependable internet when they need it.