Bangladesh’s mobile operators owe Tk13,068 crore to the government, Information and Communication Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar said in parliament on Tuesday.
In reply to a query from Jatiya Party MP Syed Abu Hossain Babla, the minister said of the total amount, Grameenphone owes Tk10,580 crore and state-owned Teletalk owes Tk1,631 crore to the government.
The minister said the amount of Grameenphone's audit objection is around Tk12,579 crore. Of this, Tk2,000 crore has been paid and the amount of arrears is around Tk10,579.94 crore.
The minister said the amount of Robi Axiata’s audit objection is around Tk867.23 crore. Of this, Tk138 crore has been paid and the amount of arrear is around Tk729 crore, he added.
The minister also informed the House that Pacific Bangladesh Telecom (Citycell) owes around Tk128 crore and state-run Teletalk owes Tk1,631.17 crore to the government.
The minister also said that cases were pending in the Supreme Court over the arrears of Grameenphone, Robi and Citycell.
In reply to another query from Awami League lawmaker Nazrul Islam Babu, Mustafa Jabbar said in 2012, there were 86.6 million mobile subscribers in the country and the number has increased to over 183.4 million in 2022.
Mustafa Jabbar also told the House that at present the number of 3G subscribers is 31.9 million while the number of 4G subscribers is 75.4 million.
The minister further said that the number of internet subscribers in 2012 was 28.9 million and now it has increased to 124.2 million.
He also said in 2012, the teledensity in the country was 60.9% and now the teledensity is 105.85%.
Mustafa Jabbar also informed the House that the internet density in 2012 was 19.99% and now it has increased to 71.57%.