BdNOG & ISPAB Boost Broadband Brilliance with Engineer Training
To secure and expand the country’s internet infrastructure, the Bangladesh Network Operators Group (BdNOG) has called on the government’s BTRC and Business Promotion Council to establish a technical training lab at its permanent office in Banani and to conduct regular training programs on updated and frontier technologies. BdNOG suggested that even a small allocation from the SOF fund held with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission could facilitate these training initiatives.
The proposal was made during the closing session of the four-day “BdNOG-20 Conference and Workshop” held at the Grand Sylhet Hotel & Resort in Sylhet. A total of 250 participants, including 90 trainees and fellows, as well as technical officers and network engineers from various organizations, participated in three groups.
At the event, BdNOG announced Rashed Amin as President and Fakhrul Alam Pappu as EC Chair, with Secretary Barkatul Alam Biplob presiding. The keynote presentation was delivered by Saiful Islam.
In his address, Chief Guest Brigadier General Shafiul Alam Parvez, Director General of BTRC, highlighted the importance of collaboration, stating, “Recently, the country faced DDoS attacks, which were mitigated thanks to your efforts. We must ensure best practices through mutual cooperation. To reduce the digital divide, we need to work together; otherwise, this sector will lag. ISPs must introduce new value and services.”
Special guest Dr. Md. Razzakul Islam of BPC, under the Ministry of Commerce, acknowledged BdNOG’s pioneering efforts in South Asia, saying, “While the government is responsible for developing engineers to keep the country’s internet services secure and functional, BdNOG has accomplished this despite many challenges. I thank them for their work.”
He further noted the shortcomings of previous foreign companies implementing digitalization pilots in 16–17 districts, emphasizing that local companies have now uploaded around six million land records online, which are accessible via mobile, ensuring cybersecurity and self-reliance.
Aminul Hakim, President of ISPAB, stressed, “Internet service now requires knowledge-based training. Our industry uses AI monitoring, cloud computing, and other technologies. Policy support is essential. BdNOG should inform policymakers about new telecom and data protection laws based on their observations.”
ISPAB Secretary Nazmul Karim Bhuinya added, “BdNOG annually trains 1,200–1,500 engineers, who are employed worldwide. We are establishing a training center on ISPAB’s 8th floor to provide year-round training on new technologies and cybersecurity. We hope BPC and BTRC will support this initiative.”
In the welcome speech, BdNOG Trustee Chair Suman Ahmed Sabir highlighted new training in Kubernetes deployment and modern data flow management, saying, “We face new challenges, and learning methods must evolve. Proper deployment will help address many network abnormalities.”
Earlier, BdNOG-20 fellows presented research papers, including Mithi Akter (BTCL), Tasnufa Jerin Mou (Fiber@Home), Mahadi Hasan Tutul (Sylhet Agricultural University), Syed Abdur Rahim (Banglatrack Communication), Noor E Alam Shehab (Amber IT), Mehedi Al Amin (IFIC Bank), Saiful Hasan Shanto (BRAC Bank), and Sad Ahnaf (Sol-BD).
