Bangladesh’s booming mobile phone industry has added $650 million to the gross domestic product (GDP) and created nearly 240,000 jobs, according to a recent study by Ovum. As in many developing countries, mobile phone services are taking off rapidly in Bangladesh, far outstripping fixed line connections.

Bangladesh, which introduced mobile phone services in 1992, has witnessed rapid growth, with the number of users increasing to 11 million in early 2006 from 200,000 in 2001.