All four telecom operators in the country lost 3.65 million subscribers during July-August uprising, according to data published by the Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission.
The four operators also lost nearly 2.2 million internet subscribers during the period.
However, it is not clear why this huge number of subscribers disappeared in those turbulent months.
Until August last, the total number of active mobile subscribers in Bangladesh stood at 192.43 million, dropping by 1.82 million in July and 1.83 million in August, compared with 196.09 million in the June, as per the BTRC data.
The BTRC counts the total number of mobile users by adding new SIM purchases and subtracting SIMs that have been inactive for over 18 months.
The number of total mobile users was gradually rising for five consecutive months before July, according to the BTRC data.
In Bangladesh, the number of mobile subscribers is higher than the population, but the actual number of individual users is much lower. This is due to a rule which allows each person to own up to 15 SIM cards, which inflates the subscriber count.
Of the four telecom operators, Grameenphone, the largest telecom operator in Bangladesh, recorded a decrease in terms of mobile subscribers.
According to the BTRC data, it lost about 450,000 customers in July and August, letting its total number of subscribers slip to 85.08 million, compared with 85.53 million in June.
Banglalink lost the most number of customers. It lost about 2.01 million users, bringing the number of total Banglalink SIM users down to 42.47 millions in July and August, compared with that of 44.4 in the month of June, the BTRC data revealed.
Robi Axiata lost about 1.15 million active mobile connections in two months, lowering its total subscriber number to 58.36, compared with 59.51 in June.
State-owned telecom operator Teletalk also experienced a slight loss in its active connections as its mobile subscribers decreased by about 30,000 in July.
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