Govt plans telecom overhaul

Bangladesh’s mobile and broadband internet services rank among the worst in the world despite a large subscriber base, and a connectivity-led reform plan is being prepared to address the challenge, Rehan Asad, the prime minister’s adviser on telecom and ICT, said yesterday.

Speaking at a seminar titled “New Telecom Policy: Expectations of Entrepreneurs”, organised by the Telecom and Technology Reporters Network Bangladesh, he said the government sees better connectivity as the key to solving long-standing structural problems in the sector.

“Nothing is more important than connectivity for this government. And that connectivity means both mobile and broadband services. It is not either-or -- it is both,” he said.

Asad said Bangladesh is among the top 10 countries by mobile subscriptions, but service quality remains very poor.

“Even in South Asia, Nepal and Bhutan are ahead of us,” he said.

He added that broadband services are also weak. “In broadband, we are in an equally bad or worse position -- 141st out of 153 countries in terms of service quality,” he said.

“These are not my findings. They come from global reports by GSMA and the International Telecommunication Union,” he added.

He said the government plans to fix these problems by rapidly expanding mobile and broadband infrastructure.

“We want to connect 90 percent of the population with 5G and provide 100 Mbps internet to 90 percent of users,” he said.

He said the goal is to ensure consistent internet service across both urban and rural areas, so users no longer face uncertainty in accessing basic connectivity.

The second priority is to build a unified digital ecosystem through a nationwide digital identity system.

He explained that each citizen will receive a digital ID linked to a digital wallet that can connect with banking and mobile financial services.

The government is studying global models such as Singapore’s Singpass and Estonia’s digital system, with plans to begin rollout within the next 12 to 18 months.

The third priority is to turn Bangladesh into an AI-enabled economy, he said, adding that artificial intelligence will be introduced in education and industry.

The fourth priority is reforming the telecom tax system.

“When someone recharges Tk 100, they receive only Tk 62 worth of service. The remaining Tk 38 goes to the government,” he said.

“We want to examine the whole value chain so that a person can receive Tk 80 to Tk 90 worth of service.”

He added that Bangladesh is the third-largest collector of telecom taxes globally, which also affects affordability, including access to smartphones.

Asad said the reforms will require coordination between industry players and government agencies, and that discussions with stakeholders are already underway.

Not all problems will be solved immediately, he said, adding that the current work marks the start of a longer reform process.

Sumon Ahmed Sabir, deputy managing director of Fiber@Home, said at the event that policies and guidelines enacted by the interim government unfairly allowed foreign entities to obtain licences across multiple layers.

“The cross-layer empowerment of foreign entities could ultimately lead to ‘super-dominance’ in mobile infrastructure by one or two companies,” he said.

He also warned of risks to national security and data governance.

Some representatives of local companies at the event also alleged that the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) formulated policies and guidelines without adequate consultation with industry stakeholders.

Md Emdad Ul Bari, chairman of the BTRC, stated that their claims were unfounded.

BTRC had conducted extensive consultations with industry players, academia, and government bodies during the policy formulation process, he said.

Bari added that the primary objective of the regulator was to ensure that the policies serve the industry as a whole.

He also noted that the guidelines and policies are currently being reviewed again, in consultation with the newly elected government.