Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission-BTRC has deposited a revenue of 73 thousand 661 crores taka so far in the state treasury since its inception. Not only in term of revenue, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created through the introduction of new technologies in the country. The Commission also facilitated through innovative solution to create resources through AMTOB members consists of 4 mobile operators, 87 members of BACCO and 2800 organizations of ISPAB.
For this, the State Minister for Telecom and ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak expressed his gratitude to all the members including the Chairman, Director General and Directors of the regulatory body. At the same time, he expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her unpaid ICT adviser Sajeeb Wazed’s policies for the transformation of Bangladesh’s prosperity.
The meeting was held at the BTRC Building located in Agargaon, the capital’s administrative area on Tuesday. State Minister for Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak expressed hope that BTRC will play a stronger role as a facilitator as well as policy formulator and regulator to improve the infrastructure of the telecommunication sector; increase the quality of service; create foreign investment and employment and increase export income.
While speaking as the chief guest, Palak said that after power & energy, road & bridges and RMG sector, foreign direct investment has come more in the telecom sector. As a result, all the mobile wallets we see today have a roll of BTRC. In an emergency meeting during the election period, we need to increase our export earnings, increase foreign investment and create smart jobs for youth to deal with the current economic crisis. BTRC will play a historic role in achieving this goal, he hopes.
Referring to the 105% telecom density of the country, the state minister for telecom said that the bandwidth usage has increased in a revolutionary manner and reached 4,865 Gbps in June 2023. This change has resulted in a policy decision. Now to build a Smart Bangladesh, BTRC should not act as a regulator but take measures to exploit the future potential with more innovative and creative strategies. New revenue streams should be identified. Measures should be taken to ensure that no one can use stolen mobile phones. BTRC needs to be a smart facilitator rather than a regulator to build a smart economy with technology skills to adapt to the innovative forces in the fourth industrial revolution.
While speaking as the President, the BTRC Chairman Engineer Md. Mohiuddin Ahmed said that after the announcement of Digital Bangladesh Manifesto in 2008, Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has developed the densely populated Bangladesh as Digital Bangladesh in the world in the last 15 years. He also said that BTRC will take initiatives to ensure affordable and quality telecommunication services by introducing modern technology.
It was the second exchange meeting of the State Minister. Secretary of BTRC Md. Nurul Hafeez conducted the event. BTRC Spectrum Division Commissioner Engineer Sheikh Riaz Ahmed; Finance, Accounts and Revenue Division Commissioner Dr. Mushfiq Mannan Chowdhury; Director General of Administration Department Abdullah Al Mamun; Director General of Engineering and Operations Department Brigadier General Md Ehsanul Kabir; Director General of Spectrum Department Brigadier General Mohammad Moniruzzaman Jewel; Director General of Systems and Services Department Brigadier General Mohammad Khalil-ur-Rehman and all the staff of the commission were present.