The amazing progress of technology in the country is now fully visible. Ten years ago, no one could have imagined that people at the union level would get internet services. Under the great leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the steps taken by our present government in the Information Technology sector to build ‘Digital Bangladesh’ and what it has achieved so far are commendable. There are also several examples of this. Not only in the cities, but the government has also provided Information Technology services to remote rural areas beyond the district and upazila headquarters. We do believe, this tech-oriented infrastructural strength will lead our country towards a proper growth of Smart Bangladesh.
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In particular, the ‘Union Information Center’ or ‘Union Information Center’ provides unlimited services to the people of villages across the country. From the Grameen Phone’s concept of ‘phone lady’ to polyphone, various ICT-related projects including a-to-i (access to information) under the Prime Minister’s Office and national data center under the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have already been implemented. Some other major projects are in the works.
Experts are describing this development and progress based on Information Technology as a digital renaissance. Along with the concept of Digital Bangladesh in the country, it has also seen a big impact on people’s lives. A big change has been made with the launch of ride-sharing services like Uber-Pathao. In this case, employment has increased, as well as many people have benefited from commuting. The increase in smartphone users has also created new entrepreneurs.
Network Infrastructure
Just a little more than two decades ago, in the 1990s, Bangladesh’s teledensity was less than 1 percent. Once the state-owned operator used to be the lone provider of telecom services. In those days, telecom service price was extremely high; the quality of service was poor; and coverage was limited only to cities, towns, and suburban areas. To overcome these limitations, the Bangladesh Government adopted market-led reforms in the early 1990s. Subsequently, private capital started flowing, primarily for expanding networks with cellular technology. The supply-driven competition and growth of the cellular option as an increasingly cheaper alternative to using a landline led to the accelerated penetration of telecom service all across the country. By 2015, the whole country was covered by multiple cellular networks. As of January 2021, Bangladesh’s mobile subscriptions alone stood at over 170 million. Affordable telecom service for all has made a significant contribution to the uplifting of Bangladesh’s social and economic situation. The Telecom network has grown as a vibrant system addressing critical information and service needs, starting from market information to money transfer.
There has also been phenomenal growth in networks for delivering internet services. On the international connectivity front, Bangladesh is now connected to two major submarine cables through landing stations at Cox’s Bazar and Kuakata, Potuakhali. Furthermore, Bangladesh is also connected to submarine-based lands in Chennai through 06 international terrestrial cables (ITCs). Bangladesh’s international connectivity has been further strengthened with the launching of the country’s satellite—the Bangabandhu Satellite-1. The advent of ITCs has also intensified competition leading to plummeting wholesale bandwidth price which now stands at less than BDT600 per Mbps. The advancement of cellular technology from 2G to 3G/4G and the rapid penetration of smartphones has led to ramping up Internet penetration. As of January 2021, Bangladesh’s Internet subscriptions stood at over 122 million.
Software & Hardware Industry, Freelancing, and Startups
Although Bangladesh’s success in IT services is quite insignificant when compared to India’s IT service exports, Bangladesh has been steadily progressing and is now beginning to leverage its untapped potential.
A recent study estimates that the industry’s IT 2018 export revenue was USD 802 million and domestic market revenue had reached BDT 19.27 billion in that year, creating 126.59 thousand jobs. Major subsectors contributing to such results are (i) software and information services; (ii) business process outsourcing and call centers; and (iii) e-commerce. Citing the country’s ICT Division as a source, media reports indicated that in 2017 a total of 650,000 Bangladeshi freelancers were registered online, while 500,000 were active in the global gig economy, producing USD 100 million service export revenue every year. According to a study undertaken by the Oxford Internet Institute in 2017, Bangladesh was the second largest supplier of global online gig workers (16%), following closely India (that supplied 24%) and leading above third-placed USA (that supplied only 12%).
In addition to software and service, a tax differential policy adopted recently has also spurred mobile phone assembly in Bangladesh. As per media reports, as many as 82% of the smartphones sold in Bangladesh are locally assembled. It’s expected that the current very low-value addition (as low as less than 10% of the cost) through assembling will grow through higher-level value-added expansion. However, in retrospect, tax differential and other incentive-based import substitution appear to be ineffective strategies for developing a sustainable ICT industrial base in, that would require increasing the value addition capacity.
There have also been significant activities in startups. More than 1,000 startups are already active in the IT industry. They are primarily capitalizing on the country-wide network, high mobile internet density, and smartphone penetration for digitization of services. However, as opposed to innovation, these startups are mostly focused on the integration of available technologies and promoting digital alternatives through subsidies. Instead of offering capital for practicing subsidies, the Government’s policy should be on funding R&D, ensuring fair competition, and encouraging the integration of intellectual properties (IPs) for creating sustainable success paths for startups.
Conclusion
While talking about ICT and the economic growth of Bangladesh, we recall the recent statement of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina saying that she has a dream to turn Bangladesh into a trillion-dollar economy. “I have a dream; the 170 million people of Bangladesh have a dream. She said, And that is, to become a trillion-dollar economy and a fully developed smart nation by 2041.”
However, the country’s rapid economic growth depends on increased investment, development of human capital, and increased productivity. Productivity is expected to increase due to the increase in the prevalence and use of technology. In this regard, it should be noted that the need for new training and skills for every new technology is undeniable. Not only will ICT education be introduced from primary to university, but its quality should also be ensured. At the same time, priority should be given to making the general public ICT-oriented.