Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar has said that optical fiber broadband connections for high-speed internet will be available across the country within this year. He said 71 islands are being connected through Bangabandhu 1 satellite to meet the target. Work is underway to provide high-speed internet in every union of the country including haor and remote chars. Besides, work has been started to set up more than 12,000 WiFi zones in remote areas.
The minister made the remarks while addressing a virtual workshop titled Broadband Policy 2021 (Proposed) Revision organized by A4AI on Wednesday.
BTRC Chairman Shyamsunder Sikder presided over the function while Anir Chowdhury, Policy Adviser of a2i’, Mahtab Ahmed, CEO of Robi, AMTAB Secretary Brigadier General (Retd.) SM Farhad and A4AI Deputy Director Elinur spoke on the occasion. BTRC Director General Brigadier General Nasim Parvez presented the keynote address. The program was conducted by Shahid Uddin Akbar, Country Coordinator of A4AI.
Appreciating the role of A4AI in drafting the broadband policy, the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications said that the government is formulating an appropriate policy keeping in mind the needs of the next ten years. The Minister said that this policy is not just a broadband policy but a comprehensive internet policy in all respects.
Highlighting the continuity of development of mobile technology in the country, Mustafa Jabbar said that although the journey of mobile phones started in Bangladesh in 1989, Bangladesh entered the mobile age in 1996 as a result of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s groundbreaking program. Following this, under the direction of Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed, Information and Communication Adviser to the Prime Minister, Bangladesh has already completed all the preparations for entering the 5G era.
He added that FiveG technology will serve as the backbone of the future industry. We can also use this technology in agriculture. The government is also working on the Telecom Act; the minister said that digital connectivity is working as a digital highway to establish the fourth industrial revolution or digital Bangladesh. Highlighting the role of digital technology in keeping life moving in the ongoing Corona pandemic, he said, “We are trying to help students with the telecom industry.”
Mentioning that we have also discussed with the Ministry of Education in this regard, the Minister said, “We are also working on how to provide low-cost smartphones to the students from poor families.” The inventor of digital content in education highlighted the need to meet the demand for digital content in the spread of digital education, saying that there is a huge demand for local content. With that in mind, he said, the curriculum should be converted to digital content.
On the occasion, Shyamsunder Sikder highlighted various aspects of the broadband policy and mentioned that it was a timely step. He appreciated the role of the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications for this.
Tags: InternetHigh speedMinister of TelecommunicationsBangabandhu Satellite