The two telecom giants in Bangladesh have posted their quarterly statement for the period April’21-Jun-’21 period. Total revenue of Grameenphone and Robi for the 2nd quarter of 2021 was Tk 35,763 million and Tk 20,309 million respectively. Despite the huge difference in total revenue, there has been a rivalry going on between the two companies to win the data consumption battle. It is now well known that the telecom industry is facing a shift from voice revenue to data revenue. Voice revenue which is the main revenue contributor for the telecom companies is declining mainly due to the increasing use of OTT platforms like WhatsApp, Messenger, IMO, etc.
As of June 2021, Grameenphone has 6.2 million more internet subscribers than Robi. However, Robi has been able to convert 72.4% of the total subscribers to internet subscribers compared to 53.3% of Grameenphone. GP has 82.0 million total users compared to Robi’s 51.8 million. Hence GP has a lot of revenue potential if it can convert the rest half of its subscriber base to use the internet.
Read More: Robi’s Revenue Increased By 15.2% In Q2,2021
In spite of having 6.2 million more internet users than Robi, the data revenue difference is not that significant. Robi’s data revenue is only 8.0% lower than that of Grameenphone. This is mainly due to Robi’s higher revenue per user compared to Grameenphone. In Q2’2021, Grameenphone earned Tk 199.1 per user compared to Robi’s Tk 213.3 per user.
Read More: GRAMEENPHONE’S PROFIT INCREASED BY 17.1% DRIVEN BY DATA AND VOICE SEGMENT
Till Q4’20, Grameenphone’s data revenue per user was higher than that of Robi. However, Robi is now ahead in this metric for two consecutive quarters. This is mainly driven by the success of Robi to increase the consumption of data per user. In Q2’21, internet consumption per user for Robi was 3,999 MB whereas Grameephone’s was 3,609 MB.
In a recent press briefing, Robi’s CEO expressed dissatisfaction over the control of a single largest player in distorting price and distribution system. He also was worried about the lack of implementation of the SMP regulations. Grameenphone was declared as a Significant Market Player (SMP) in February 2019, but the regulation has not been implemented on the company yet. Mobile internet penetration still has a lot of scopes to grow, and we expect the intense rivalry of the two telecom giants to continue in the coming quarters.
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