Mobile phone operators have been instructed to notify users in advance via SMS
The government has decided to establish a national “fibre optic bank”, which will bring all unused fibre optic resources from state-owned entities under a single platform in a bid to accelerate digital transformation.
Leading foreign investors in Bangladesh’s telecommunications sector have urged the government to reconsider proposed restrictions on foreign ownership in the upcoming Telecommunications Network and Licensing Reform Policy 2025.
The telecom regulator has decided to permit the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) and Bangladesh Railway to extend their optical fibre networks beyond their respective grid lines and railway tracks in a bid to improve internet connectivity across the country.
For the first time, the World Bank, which traditionally provides development project loans and budgetary support, has extended its assistance through a guarantee facility to support Bangladesh in purchasing liquefied natural gas (LNG), aiming to ease pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Early users of Starlink, the satellite internet service recently launched in Bangladesh, have expressed satisfaction over its high-speed and stable connection.
Bangladesh’s IT exports witnessed a slight rise in the first nine months of the current financial year, buoyed by growing global demand for AI-powered services.
True reform requires the courage to correct the policy missteps of the past
The digital divide continues to exist in Bangladesh underscoring disparities in internet access between rural and urban areas, while gender digital divide also worsened.
Local production of mobile phones declined substantially in Bangladesh in April as manufacturers grappled with a massive drop in sales amidst the grey market’s expansion.
Three private submarine cables have backtracked from their initial decisions to supply bandwidth separately through undersea cables and have now agreed to collaborate on one connection amid the US dollar shortage.
The proposed budget for 2023-24 is unrealistic and unattainable as the challenges that caused the economic growth to decelerate, foreign exchange reserves to dip and inflation to surge in the past one year still persist, said economists and think-tanks.
“If a person is not liable for tax, how can you really tax the person? This is a desperate attempt to increase direct taxes,” he added.
In the context of ongoing crisis and problems, the macroeconomic projections announced in the budget are illusional and unattainable, the Centre for Policy Dialogue said in its instant budget reaction.
The prices of mobile phones are set to increase in the upcoming fiscal as the government proposed raising value-added tax (VAT) on local production of handsets.
The allocation for the ICT Division may increase by Tk 452 crore to Tk 2,368 crore in the proposed budget for 2023-24 fiscal year.
The budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Science and Technology may decline by Tk 3,007 crore or 22 per cent to Tk 13,607 crore in the proposed budget for 2023-24 fiscal year.
"Mobile sales have dropped drastically due to the economic downturn for people. Handset sales dropped by over 40 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023"
