Bangladesh has started gradually using 5G internet which will help facilitate global connectivity.
Bangladesh has made tremendous achievements in the information technology (IT) sector and already established network at the remote areas of village level, said Shyam Sunder Sikder, Chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
“Soon it will use full fifth generation (5G) with most modern and high tech device for facilitating service in the grassroots level,” said the BTRC chairman while talking to Bangladesh Post in an exclusive interview recently.
The western nations have just started, Shyam Sunder, the former senior secretary of Bangladesh government, said over 18 crore people are currently using mobile connections.
“Adults, younger, children and working class people are using smartphones and the internet across the country which is a great achievement for us,” he said, adding that the country’s IT sector has expanded its huge market.”
“Bangladesh is progressing fast with other developed countries in the telecom sector. After its formation, the BTRC has developed the telecom sector rapidly in the last two decades,” he added.
About the broadband internet, Shyam Sunder said we have launched a special tariff – EkDeshEk Rate (one country one rate) – to ensure broadband internet supply to the marginal level. A customer now has to pay Tk 500 a month for using a broadband connection with a minimum internet speed of 5 Mbps.
Around 12 crore people are now using broadband internet in the country, he also said.
The BTRC introduced the ‘One Country One Rate’ tariff to attract foreign investment by boosting coordination among ISPs at the local level and protecting the interests of marginal broadband internet subscribers, he added.
Although the number of mobile internet users, in general, is high, broadband internet users use 58 percent of the country's total bandwidth.
Regarding the mobile internet, the BTRC chairman said we have also fixed the data package duration of mobile internet which is now 7 and 30 days because of the fact that when mobile operators offer 3 days mobile internet package, customers cannot use total internet in this time frame. The unused data goes back to the operator which is kind of cheating.
So now we have directed the operators to provide 7 and 30 days internet packages for the customers, he said.
“We have directed the operators to limit the total number of packages they offer to 40. At present, operators offer up to 95 packages to subscribers, whose duration ranges from an hour to an indefinite period,” he also said.
“Earlier, they would offer 300 packages. Now they are offering 95 packages. Is it possible for customers to choose from 95 packages and remember those? This takes the level of people's confusion to extreme heights. So, we are cutting it down to 40,” he added.
Mobile users will have the option to buy data plans for seven days or 30 days from October 15. The option to purchase plans with unlimited validity will remain, too, according to the BTRC.
BTRC has witnessed many 'firsts' in its two decade journey. One of the first Bangladeshi satellites is 'Bangabandhu Satellite-1'. It is playing a very important role in ensuring internet based services especially to people in remote areas.
Most recently, Bangladesh entered the fifth as the seventh country in the world of 5G service. Delivering 5G service, Bangladesh ranks next to the world's leading countries which is a great pride for us.
Even in the covid-19 global pandemic situation, BTRC ensured quality service to the customer during the time.