The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) organized a roundtable on expanding digital services through evolving telecommunications. The discussion took place on Monday at the BTRC headquarters in Agargaon, Dhaka. The event brought together leading entrepreneurs from the country’s emerging digital service sector, including representatives from BDjobs, Chaldal, 10 Minute School, Pathao, ShareTrip, ShopUp, Praava Health, Shohoz, Shikho, eCourier, Pickaboo, and Sheba XYZ.
In a keynote presentation, Chaldal CEO Waseem Alim highlighted that growth need not solely rely on GDP and inflation. Drawing comparisons with Japan, he expressed optimism that Bangladesh’s GDP could reach $2 trillion by 2040, with growth driven by land, GDP size, and population density. He emphasized that while Bangladesh is advancing in manpower, inadequate infrastructure and high costs are impediments. Furthermore, Bangladesh’s e-commerce market lags behind Indonesia and India, with India’s market being nearly seven times larger. Alim advocated for widespread data usage as a critical tool to reduce infrastructure costs, enhance education, and empower the unemployed. He stressed that data use should face no restrictions.
Alim further argued for reducing data prices to enhance accessibility, proposing that instead of a minimum usage of 125 kilobytes, active internet users should be measured by a monthly usage of at least 1 GB. Noting that India’s data consumption far exceeds that of Bangladesh, he recommended that mobile operators introduce a package offering 2 GB of data for 10 BDT per month, removing unnecessary cost layers and floor prices to make this feasible.
The roundtable was chaired by BTRC Chairman Emdadul Bari, with ICT Secretary Shish Haider Chowdhury as the chief guest. BTRC’s Commissioner for System and Services Brigadier General Mohammad Khalilur Rahman moderated the event, which included commissioners, directors, mobile operators, and bank representatives.
BDjobs Founder and Planning Ministry Task Force member Fahim Mashroor commended BTRC for inviting content creators to the discussion. He underscored that data costs remain high relative to purchasing power and suggested setting mobile internet prices similarly to broadband rates. He also called for a re-evaluation of revenue sharing and SOF fund policies, proposing a two-year halt on the SOF fund. He recommended imposing accountability on content providers for their platforms and encouraged major content providers like Google, Facebook, and Akamai to establish a presence in Bangladesh. He further advised BTRC to address illegal advantages given to certain companies in recent years.
This roundtable emphasized strategic steps to promote affordable and accessible digital services in Bangladesh, fostering economic growth in a highly competitive global digital economy.
