To control the law and order situation, curb crime, ensure cyber security and personal safety, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has cancelled more than 10 SIM cards per subscriber. This has resulted in the closure of more than 8.8 million SIM cards in the country. In addition, 100,000 SIMs are suspended due to case-related reasons.
BTRC said that in order to control the increasing cybercrime and law and order situation across the country, a decision was taken in the middle of last year to reduce the number of SIM cards per customer. More than 10 SIM cards have been deactivated against customers since November under the direction of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.
Currently, the ministry has instructed that the number of SIM cards per customer will be reduced to five. However, due to customer dissatisfaction and agitation over the elections, this has not been implemented yet. It will be implemented after the elections are over.
BTRC Director General Brigadier General SM Moniruzzaman said that about 8.9 million excess SIMs were found, of which more than 8.8 million have been deactivated. The remaining 100,000 SIMs are suspended due to litigation, but they will be deactivated soon.
The reduction in the number of SIM cards has had an impact on mobile and internet usage. The introduction of the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) and the closure of excess SIM cards have resulted in a decrease of about 1.8 million mobile subscribers and 6.26 million mobile internet subscribers in the last six months.
According to BTRC data, in July 2025, there were 194.2 million mobile users in the country across four SIM operators. A year later, the number stood at 188.7 million in July and currently (November 2025) stands at 187 million. Although the number of mobile internet users has decreased, the number of broadband users has increased. Currently, there are 14.6 million broadband internet users in the country.
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