Best eSIM for Bangladesh

Getting a local SIM in Bangladesh is a formal process, not a counter transaction. Foreign visitors are registered against a passport with biometric verification before a prepaid line is issued, and that takes time you may not have if you have landed at Hazrat Shahjalal (DAC) in the evening with a car waiting and Dhaka traffic ahead.

The trip usually justifies the connection several times over. Much of what visitors come for, family visits in Dhaka and Chattogram, garment and trading business, the boat routes to the Sundarbans, the long beach at Cox's Bazar, involves changing plans by phone. Ride-hailing is how most people move around Dhaka, and it needs live data. An eSIM installed before you fly means you step out of arrivals already connected, with no queue and no registration desk between you and the car.

Trips here tend to be one of two shapes: a week or two of family and business in Dhaka and Chattogram, or a longer stay that adds Sylhet, Khulna or Cox's Bazar. Either way plan for steady rather than heavy use, since maps and ride-hailing run continuously while you are moving through the city. Match the plan duration to your stay and read the plan card above for the rest.

Ride-hailing apps in Dhaka accept the account you already have, so you do not need a Bangladeshi number for daily travel, and hotels confirm by email. Check the plan card for hotspot if you carry a laptop for work meetings. Travellers pairing Bangladesh with India, Nepal or Thailand should compare the single-country plan against the Asia regional plan. Top-ups queue behind the plan you are on, and your phone should be checked on the devices page before you travel.

The networks that exist in Bangladesh are Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink and the state-owned Teletalk, and coverage across the country is broad, with 4G LTE as the practical everyday connection. Dhaka and Chattogram are dense and well served, though speeds fall in the busiest hours simply because so many people are on the network at once. Signal thins on the river deltas, in the Sundarbans mangroves and in parts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where boat and hill routes can leave you offline for stretches.

• Dhaka — comprehensive coverage, congested at peak hours
• Chattogram — reliable in the city and along the port areas
• Sylhet — good in town and across the surrounding tea estates
• Cox's Bazar — solid along the beach road and hotel strip
• Khulna — usable as a base, weaker as you head into the Sundarbans
• Rajshahi — steady coverage in the city and on the main highways

The registration requirement is the deciding factor for most visitors. If you are here for a week or two, the eSIM saves an outlet visit and a wait. If you are staying for months, or need a Bangladeshi number that local contacts can ring, do the registration and take a local prepaid line as well.

1. Buy the Bangladesh plan above; your QR code and install link arrive by email in minutes.
2. iPhone on iOS 17.4 or later: tap the install link. Android: Settings, then Connections or Network, then SIM manager, add an eSIM and scan the QR code.
3. Install on home Wi-Fi so nothing needs downloading at the airport.
4. Give the line the label Bangladesh so it is unmistakable in settings.
5. Turn Data Roaming on for the eSIM line and mobile data off on your home SIM, which stays active for calls and OTPs.
6. At Hazrat Shahjalal in Dhaka, or Shah Amanat in Chattogram, choose the eSIM as your data line. Validity starts there.

Install two or three days before departure while you have reliable Wi-Fi. Because the plan starts counting only when the eSIM first registers on a Bangladeshi network, installing early costs nothing and removes the risk of fiddling with settings in a crowded arrivals hall. Keep your home data line on until you land, then switch before you book a ride out of the airport.