Land-line
The land-line telephone system in Bangladesh is state owned and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL) is the controlling authority. Mobile communication is more competitive and there are a number of competing services in Bangladesh.
Cell Phone Companies
There are 6 mobile phone operators in Bangladesh. These are:
- Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. Branded as Airtel, formerly known as Warid Telecom
- Grameenphone/Telenor Bangladesh Ltd.: Branded as Grameenphone
- Orascom Telecom Ltd.: Branded as Banglalink
- Pacific Bangladesh Telephone Ltd.: Branded as Citycell
- Axiata Bangladesh Ltd: Branded as Robi
- Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd.: Branded as Teletalk
The number of mobile phone subscribers in Bangladesh as of February 2009 was 45.21 million, rising to 99.87 million at the end of March 2013.
Internet
The first connectivity of internet was only in 1996 and was over VSAT. As of 2005 more than 180 Internet Service Providers are operating in the country. ISP’s are regulated by the Bangladesh telecommunication regulatory commission (BTRC). As of September 2014, there were about 44 million users with access to the internet.