After almost a decade, the draft of the National Broadband Policy 2023 has been formulated by updating the policy. Where 20 megabits per second on broadband has been fixed. And although not yet finalized, according to the license guideline, the minimum speed of 4G mobile internet has been set at 15 Mbps.
Meanwhile, the Department of Posts and Telecommunications has approved a new speed and definition of broadband as per the decision of the latest commission meeting of the telecom regulator BTRC. Although the speed of mobile internet has not been determined, according to the decision of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC), steps have been taken to ensure a minimum speed of 15 Mbps as per 4G guidelines.
While asked about this, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mostafa Jabbar told Digi Bangla why no standard has been set in the country so far regarding mobile internet speed. In case of mobile, we do not control data price or speed. There is definitely a need for this. Of course, it is relative. And since the overall issue needs to be reviewed and evaluated; So, after launching 5G, we will fix the price and speed criteria of mobile internet service.
The minister said the decision to double the speed of broadband internet has already been finalized. Now in reality the speed of broadband will be 20 Mbps or more.
Asked about the effect of doubling the speed and one country one rate, he said that given the amount of bandwidth currently being used in the country, the broadband speed should not be 10 Mbps. As a result, it has been extended. So now internet service providers are calling broadband internet a tariff plan of 20 Mbps or more. And keeping ‘one country one rate’ in mind, the needs and affordability of the customer is the internet which is in deed divided among the maximum 5 people. As a result, there is no reason to confuse 5 Mbps or 10 Mbps as broadband.
Imdadul Haque, general secretary of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB), welcomed the new standards and called on the BTRC to remove the obstacles that stand in the way of transmission.
“We have enough bandwidth,” he told Digi Bangla, referring to the ‘standard development’ in the new guideline as realistic. We also have the capability to provide quality services. So now, with the help of transmission, it will be possible to implement the new standard within a year.
According to sources, the ISPs that are providing services across the country have not yet been able to deliver their services at the union level due to the high cost of transmission. However, ISP providers are making every effort to increase the rate of broadband internet users in the country to 30 percent by March next year and 60 percent by 2023.
According to sources, the minimum speed of mobile internet should be 8 Mbps as per the license guideline. In the case of 4G, BTRC has formed a committee to increase this speed to 15 Mbps. After receiving the report, BTRC will issue a formal order for new internet speed standards.
In a virtual meeting chaired by Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mostafa Jabbar on October 12, the issue of updating broadband internet standards was finalized in the presence of BTRC representative and Prime Minister’s Information and Communication Technology Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy. However, the PM’s IT adviser expressed dissatisfaction with the low speed of the Internet and suggested raising the current speed from 10 Mbps to 30 Mbps. He was informed from the meeting at that time about the steps taken to formulate the National Broadband Policy 2021. Later, at the last commission meeting of BTRC, it was decided to define broadband as 20 Mbps.
Earlier in 2018, BTRC increased the minimum speed standard of broadband from 5 Mbps to 10 Mbps. And the speed of broadband internet has changed 6 times in 10 years from 2008 to 2018. In 2008, the standard for broadband internet in the country was 128 kbps. Then the definition of broadband was fixed at 512 kbps in 2011, 1 Mbps in 2013, 2 Mbps in 2015, 5 Mbps in 2016 and 10 Mbps in 2018.
By updating the Internet speed standards over time, the proposed policy sets broadband speeds at 30 Mbps for the short term target of 20 Mbps, 2 Gbps for the medium term target of 2031 (gigabits per second) and 10 Gbps for the long term target of 2041.