Before you start

Passport with a valid Bangladeshi visa
Physical presence at an operator's customer care centre for biometric capture
An unlocked handset
A Rajshahi address, for fixed broadband

Step-by-step

1
Register at an operator's own customer care centre
Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink and Teletalk run centres around Shaheb Bazar and the central commercial area. Foreign passport registration is not something a small retailer can process, and in a smaller city the number of counters that can do it is limited — go to the operator directly.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Expect biometric capture and know the two-SIM passport ceiling
BTRC's framework caps registrations against a passport, driving licence or birth certificate at two, against a much higher figure for a Bangladeshi national ID. The commission has been tightening the NID ceiling too, so confirm the current numbers at the counter rather than trusting a published figure.
In personWho: You
3
Turn off data roaming if you work near the border
Rajshahi sits on the Padma facing India, and in the border upazilas a Bangladeshi handset will readily latch onto an Indian network. International roaming charges accrue without any obvious signal that you have crossed anything. Turn data roaming off before your first field trip west or south, not after the bill.
Mobile appWho: YouBefore any border-area travel
4
Set up bKash or Nagad immediately after the SIM
Mobile financial services are tied to the SIM and carry more of daily life in a smaller city than in Dhaka, where card acceptance is better. Rickshaw fares, utility bills, small merchants and household staff all run through them.
Mobile appWho: YouWeek 1–2
5
Ask which fixed broadband provider serves the building, and confirm with them
Bangladesh's ISP market is fragmented and coverage is building-by-building, and the choice is narrower here than in the big cities. The university areas are generally better served than the outskirts. Get a named provider from the landlord and confirm directly, particularly if you work from home.
OnlineWho: YouBefore signing a lease
6
Plan for outages
Load shedding still occurs at summer peak demand, and the northwest is not the first place restored. A UPS on the router and a charged mobile hotspot are standard equipment for anyone whose work depends on a connection.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with valid visa
Fingerprints, captured at the counter
Proof of Rajshahi address, for fixed broadband

Things most newcomers don’t know

Two SIMs is the ceiling against a passport, and that applies to foreigners specifically.

BTRC's registration framework distinguishes by identity document: a Bangladeshi national ID card supports a substantial number of registrations, while a passport, driving licence or birth certificate supports no more than two. For a foreign resident without an NID, two is the practical limit. BTRC has also been reducing the NID ceiling, so treat any published number as needing confirmation at the counter.

Source: Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission

Near the border your phone will roam onto India without telling you anything useful.

Rajshahi faces India across the Padma and the border runs close to several of the district's upazilas. Mobile networks do not stop at rivers, so a handset doing field work in the border areas will attach to an Indian carrier and start charging international roaming. Nothing on the screen makes this obvious at a glance. Turning data roaming off before the first trip is a one-second precaution that people otherwise learn from a bill — and it is a Rajshahi problem that no national guide mentions.

Source: community-reported

The SIM gates mobile money, and mobile money matters more here than in the capital.

bKash and Nagad registration is tied to the mobile number and the identity document behind it. In a city where card acceptance is thin and the rickshaw economy runs on small transfers, mobile money is the main way you pay for things. That makes the SIM the true first errand on arrival — before the bank account, which takes longer and matters less day to day.

Source: community-reported

Registration is biometric and there is no anonymous SIM.

BTRC runs a central biometric verification platform and SIMs are bound to an identity document at activation. Buying a pre-registered SIM from a shop means using a number registered to someone else, which is unlawful and a real problem if anything happens on that number — including that you cannot then register mobile financial services in your own name against it.

Source: Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission

Common mistakes to avoid

Doing border-area field work with data roaming left on.
Assuming you can hold as many SIMs as a Bangladeshi colleague.
Trying to register a foreign passport at a neighbourhood retailer rather than an operator centre.
Buying a pre-registered SIM and then being unable to open bKash in your own name.
Signing a lease without a named broadband provider and confirmed capacity.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.