The world is waiting to hear Bangladesh's digital inclusion story

Bangladesh has reached a stage where expanding digital connectivity alone will no longer determine the success of its digital economy. The next phase, according to Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific at the GSMA, will depend on bringing more people online, strengthening innovation and creating predictable policies that encourage long-term investment.

In an interview with The Daily Star, Julian said Bangladesh has already built an extensive mobile network, with almost universal 4G population coverage, but still trails several countries in South and Southeast Asia in smartphone adoption, mobile broadband usage and digital innovation.

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"The world is waiting to hear Bangladesh's digital inclusion story," he said, arguing that the country's greatest opportunity now lies in converting connectivity into wider participation in the digital economy.

Julian leads the Asia Pacific operations of the GSMA, the global trade association representing the mobile ecosystem. Having worked across Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia with operators including Vodafone, MTN and Ooredoo, he has spent more than two decades on telecommunications policy, regulation and commercial strategy.

Closing the usage gap

Bangladesh's mobile infrastructure has expanded rapidly over the past decade. Yet Julian said infrastructure alone does not guarantee digital transformation.
He noted that while around 99 percent of the population is covered by 4G networks, smartphone penetration remains at roughly 55 percent and average monthly mobile broadband consumption stands at around 5 GB, both below regional averages.

According to the GSMA's Digital Nations Index, Bangladesh currently sits near the lower end of the regional rankings, alongside Pakistan and behind countries such as India and Vietnam.

Among the different components measured by the index, innovation remains Bangladesh's weakest area, he said. This is significant because innovation determines how effectively technology is translated into economic activity and productivity.

Data governance also remains below regional averages, although Julian described security and trust as one of Bangladesh's comparatively stronger areas.
"The biggest challenge now is closing the usage gap," he said, adding that increasing digital literacy and ensuring people possess the skills needed to participate online should become national priorities.

Looking across Asia, he said countries that have advanced most quickly share several characteristics: strong political leadership, clear policy direction and spectrum pricing designed to encourage investment rather than maximise short-term government revenue.

Vietnam, he said, recently demonstrated this approach through its 5G spectrum auction, where the government effectively acted as a co-investor by offering rebates linked to network rollout commitments.

Balancing affordability and investment

As Bangladesh prepares for major spectrum renewals later this year, Julian believes policymakers will face important decisions over how to balance government revenue with continued investment in next-generation networks.
Rather than viewing affordability and investment as competing objectives, he described them as issues of sequencing.

Julian noted that spectrum costs in Bangladesh have risen to approximately 16 percent of industry revenues, around twice the global median of 8 percent.

Operators, he said, remain willing to expand network coverage, but governments also have an important role in lowering administrative burdens and reducing the overall cost of digital access, including the affordability of smartphones.

Reducing these barriers creates what he described as the "circularity" needed to increase usage, lower costs and stimulate further investment.

Policy certainty over historic pricing

Asked which regional reforms Bangladesh could learn from, Julian again pointed to Vietnam's approach, where government policy was accompanied by concrete incentives to accelerate 5G deployment.

He argued that Bangladesh's greatest opportunity lies in expanding the addressable market for digital services.

With more than half of the population still not using mobile broadband, even modest increases in digital adoption could substantially expand opportunities for innovators, technology companies and foreign investors.

"Increasing mobile broadband adoption by 10 or 20 percent creates a significantly larger market for innovation," he said.

Preparing for AI

Artificial intelligence is expected to become increasingly dependent on robust mobile infrastructure, particularly as AI-powered services move onto consumer devices.

Julian said smartphones are effectively placing AI into the hands of individuals and small businesses, while mobile operators provide the network capacity and low latency needed to support these services.

He also believes operators should become major users of AI themselves, applying it across their own operations to improve efficiency and ultimately reduce costs for consumers.

Building trust through better governance

As governments across Asia update digital regulations, Julian said Bangladesh has an opportunity to improve data governance without discouraging innovation.

He welcomed efforts to reduce restrictive cross-border data provisions, arguing that international investors increasingly assess how freely data can move across jurisdictions before making investment decisions.

Rather than fragmented or overlapping regulations, he said businesses are looking for coherent and transparent frameworks that provide long-term certainty.

On cybersecurity, he highlighted several GSMA initiatives designed to strengthen industry-wide resilience, including the United Against Scams programme and Open Gateway APIs.

Making these APIs available in Bangladesh, he said, would enable developers and businesses to build new digital services while maintaining stronger security standards.

Trust and safety, he added, will be a central theme at the GSMA's upcoming regional event in Kuala Lumpur.

Investment prospects

Julian believes Bangladesh also possesses geographic advantages that could strengthen its appeal as a regional digital investment destination.

Its location and international connectivity through multiple submarine cable systems position it well for future growth in cloud services and digital infrastructure, he said.

Domestic demand for cloud computing is also expected to increase as mobile broadband adoption expands.

He said recent announcements by companies such as Rakuten indicate growing international interest, while describing the government's broader commitment to digital development as moving in a positive direction.

Beyond connectivity

The benefits of wider digital inclusion extend beyond telecommunications, Julian argued.

Greater mobile broadband adoption creates opportunities across financial technology, platform-based businesses, e-commerce and logistics.

He pointed to India's experience, where digital public infrastructure—including Aadhaar and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI)—helped accelerate digital participation across multiple sectors of the economy.

Bangladesh, he suggested, could follow a similar trajectory as more citizens gain access to digital services.

A destination for digital dialogue?

Julian also sees potential for Bangladesh to host larger regional technology and telecommunications events in the future.

The GSMA already organises Digital Nation Summits in markets including Pakistan and Vietnam, and he said Bangladesh could eventually become another destination as confidence in its digital reforms grows.

Much, however, will depend on continued progress in areas such as spectrum policy and the broader digital transformation agenda. He said there is now a noticeable shift in how Bangladesh presents its digital ambitions, describing the current narrative as signalling a "new era" built around digital transformation.

For Julian, Bangladesh's long-term opportunity lies in inclusion rather than simply infrastructure.

"There is still significant organic growth potential as more people become part of the digital economy," he said. "The GSMA looks forward to supporting the local industry and helping the world hear more about Bangladesh's journey."