Dbarta24 Report — High connectivity costs continue to impede digital inclusion in Bangladesh, leaving over 42% of families without home internet access despite modest gains in personal smartphone ownership.
According to the latest Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Application and Usage Survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), household internet penetration dropped to 58.2% in the fourth quarter (April–June) of the 2025–26 fiscal year. This marks a decline from the 59.7% recorded during the same period in the preceding fiscal year.
The BBS survey gathered data from 61,632 households across 2,568 randomly selected sample areas nationwide, targeting individuals aged five and above.
High Tariffs and the Economic Barrier
The primary bottleneck preventing wider digital adoption remains financial affordability. In a separate survey conducted by the bureau, approximately 43.6% of respondents explicitly cited high internet costs as the primary reason for not subscribing to services.
This barrier disproportionately affects low-income families and rural populations, where household budgets are tightly constrained.
While internet access at the household level saw a slight contraction, individual internet usage registered growth. The proportion of individuals using the internet rose to 59.2% in Q4 of FY 2025–26, up from 55% during the corresponding period in FY 2024–25.
Device Ownership and Usage Patterns
Mobile phone penetration remains nearly universal across Bangladesh. Household mobile phone access held steady at 99%, while overall household mobile ownership edged up slightly to 98.2%. Smartphone adoption among families also experienced a minor increase, climbing to 75.1% from 74.8%. At the individual level, mobile usage rose to 89.6%, with personal device ownership reaching 65.6%.
The survey also highlighted shifting trends among legacy media and consumer electronics within Bangladeshi homes:
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Television: Usage increased to 60.1%, up from 59.1%.
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Radio: Ownership declined to 15.3% from 16%.
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Fixed-line Telephones: Usage dropped significantly, falling to 0.7%.
Primary Online Activities
When Bangladeshi consumers go online, job seeking and sports dominate their bandwidth. The survey found that searching for public sector employment opportunities is the single largest online activity, engaged in by 64% of users. Seeking sports-related news and information followed, attracting roughly 50% of online users. E-commerce adoption remains relatively low, with only 11.6% of internet users purchasing goods or services online.
The contrast between rising individual smartphone ownership and stagnant household internet adoption highlights the critical need for targeted policy interventions. Without reducing broadband tariffs and improving rural infrastructure, bridging the digital divide for the 42% of households currently left behind will remain an uphill task.