Nationwide telecommunications services in 1988 were deficient in both quality and quantity. Resources available to the Ministry of Communications were inadequate. Bangladesh had a ratio of less than 1 telephone per 1,000 people, one of the lowest telephone densities in the world. Telephone facilities were heavily overburdened, with a waiting list for telephone service approaching 50,000. International service improved in the mid-1980s with the introduction of satellite connections through facilities at Bethbunia and Talibabad. International and direct-dial facilities existed on a limited basis. Most district towns had access to an alternative system for urgent communications, in the form of a UHF or VHF radio system or radio relay network (see The Media , ch. 4). Bangladesh planned to improve its telecommunications during the Third Five-Year Plan (1985-90) by the installation of a digital radio relay network, automation of telephone exchanges, and the installation of a mobile telephone network in Dhaka.

Data as of September 1988