With the determination of keeping the country’s data safe inside the country, the ISPAB Nix was inaugurated on Sunday with four POPs. The Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar launched the service at a ‘Meet the Horizon’ event at a five-star hotel in the capital at night.
President of the Internet Service Providers’ Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) Imdadul Haque presided over the event while BTRC Chairman Shyam Sundar Sikder, Vice Chairman of ISPAB Engineer Mohiuddin Ahmed, IBPC Coordinator of Ministry of Commerce Md. Abdur Rahim Khan and others were present at the program.
Imdadul Haque, highlighting why ISPAB was nixed despite the nixing of several commercial institutions and said that there was only one POP in Dhaka. But we have already installed 4 NIX. Received 6 million traffic within three months of pilot launch. Hopefully, POPs will be installed in each Upazila in the near future.
The ISPAB president requested the attention of the minister and BTRC to solve this problem, stating that the ISP traders have lost the ‘level playing field’ due to the removal of the cache server. Appealing to the ISPs not to increase the price of band width, he said, if this is done, the mobile operators will not benefit as much as the bigger concern is that this business will be taken over by WhatsApp and Messenger, and the country’s internet business will be taken over. Similarly, we should not be deprived of IP services.
In his welcome speech, the ISPAB general secretary Nazmul Karim Bhuiyan said, “We are buying bandwidth at a higher price than the mobile operators” and added that this business will not grow if they are not given the opportunity to renew and upgrade their licenses in accordance with the new license policy. In addition to providing opportunities for NTTNs, ISPs are seeking support so that they can connect easily at the grassroots level. But due to muscle power we are not able to implement the ‘one country one rate’ policy. Still we set up Nix today to develop ‘local content’.
While speaking as the special guest, Abdur Rahman said, I think ISPAB’s Nix will protect us from the dangers of the Internet. Besides, we will expand our lab establishment to develop skilled engineers.
BTRC Chairman Shyam Sundar Shikder said, among 230 countries, Bangladesh offers the 8th lowest internet price. We have implemented ‘one country one rate’ policy with the collective efforts of all. ISPAB NIX will be great for ISPs to use local content.
To the ISP traders, BTRC Vice Chairman Engineer Mohiuddin Ahmed said that the sustainable development is not possible by hanging cables with bamboo poles. Put in writing, all your demands will be fulfilled if that works for people.
