Effect of Technological Evolution on Usage Pattern: A Study on Mobile Internet Subscribers in Bangladesh

Abstract

As in most countries of the world, mobile internet has been playing a key role in the growth of internet subscriber-base in Bangladesh. While the country is at the verge of introducing advanced wireless internet connectivity via 4G technologies, this longitudinal study attempts to explore the effect (if any) of such technological evolution on subscribers’ internet usage pattern. Data has been collected in two phases- first, just before the onset of 3G services (when 2G was fully dominant) and second, at the period when 4G launching was imminent (i.e., 3G is fully dominant), from the secondary sources of a leading internet service provider (as well as the top mobile operator) of the country and using a consumer survey of that mobile operator in both phases. A comparative analysis of the collected data shows that evolution of technology (2G to 3G) has impact on certain consumption criteria while few of the patterns remain same even after the advancement. We identified few key issues (e.g., preference of devices, activities and website inclination, internet usage time, preferred area of service improvement etc.) that the mobile operators in Bangladesh should consider and show how those have practical and managerial implications for the maximum utilization of the future technological evolution (i.e., 4G deployment).

Keywords: mobile internet, usage pattern, subscribers, Bangladesh