Banglalink provides the fastest internet | Daily Star

Banglalink, the third largest mobile network operator in Bangladesh, now offers the fastest internet connection speed while state-run Teletalk remains the country’s worst data service provider, according to a global speed test report.

According to Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence report, Banglalink delivered the fastest average download speed among the top domestic mobile network operators with 19Mbps in Q4 2022.

With an average download speed of 5.29 Mbps, Teletalk was the lowest performer during that period.

Ookla, the world’s leading internet testing and analytics company, provides a comprehensive view of global network performance, quality, and accessibility based on the millions of results obtained through the Ookla Speedtest app daily.

For example, if a person in Bangladesh tests the internet speed of their mobile network through the Ookla app, it will count against Ookla’s global test results.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has not published any 2022 test drive results.

Banglalink, which has 3.94 crore subscribers, was recognized by Ookla as the fastest mobile internet service provider in Bangladesh for the fourth consecutive time in February last year.

It also fared relatively better than other operators in the test conducted by regulators in 2021 to measure internet services in the country.

Banglalink’s strong performance was supported by its efforts to improve internet services as the company was investing heavily in buying spectrum.

In 2021, the network operator bought spectrum in the 1,800MHz band, and in 2022, it bought another piece of spectrum in the 2,300MHz band, according to Taimur Rahman, Banglalink’s chief regulatory and regulatory affairs officer.

Also, Banglalink has deployed nearly 4,000 base transceiver stations, increasing coverage by up to 40 percent, in the past year.

He said that with this improved coverage, capacity and spectrum availability, Banglalink has been able to consistently be the fast mobile internet provider in the country.

Banglalink has also introduced several innovative digital services in the recent past, including Toffee, which enables millions of people in the country to watch the recent FIFA World Cup.

In addition, the company’s MyBL app has become the first super app in the country while there are many other services that customers also appreciate.

“Banglalink is working to provide better and quality services to the people of the country,” Abdul Rahman added.

Market leader Grameenphone, which has 8.03 crores subscribers, was the second best ISP with an average download speed of 14.16 Mbps.

The second largest operator, Robi Axiata, which now has 5.43 crores of customers, took second place in the speed test with its Airtel brand posting a download speed of 10.85 Mbps while Robi clocking in at 10.61 Mbps.

AKM Habibur Rahman, CEO of Teletalk Bangladesh said they have identified network congestion points and have been increasing bandwidth at those points in the past three to four months.

“I hope the network quality will improve in the future,” he added.

Bangladesh moved up seven spots in the global ranking of mobile download speeds, reaching 119th.

The country recorded an average of 13.95 Mbps in November last year, better than the 10.42 Mbps recorded in November 2021, according to the Speedtest Global Index recently published by Ookla.

Bangladesh’s internet subscriber base was on a downward curve for four months till November last year due to the sharp decline in the number of mobile internet users, according to the latest data from the Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission.

The number of netizens fell to ₹12.50 crore in November, down 11 thousand from the previous month.

With this, the number of internet users has decreased by around 25 thousand since July, when the total subscriber base reached Rs 12.75 crore.

Mobile internet subscribers fell by around 11,000 to ₹11.34 crore in that month.

However, the operators said that although the number of Internet users is declining, data consumption is rising.