Revised broadband policy gets delayed

The draft of revised broadband policy has not been formulated yet, although the telecom regulator was supposed to prepare it by mid-October of last year.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is not sure when the draft would be ready. 
The need of an effective broadband policy was discussed during the just ended LTE Summit.
BTRC, in July last year, held seminar and workshop with stakeholders for formulating a draft of revised broadband policy and said economic aspect would be prioritised.  
Earlier in July 2015, Former BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose said the Broadband Policy, which was formulated in 2009, was not successful due to insufficient a budgetary allocation in the national budget. 
In 2009, broadband policy was made by the government and at that time Sunil Kanti Bose was the telecom secretary.
“We made the policy with the help of ITU (International Telecom Union) but we could not make it successful. We have been able to install fibre optics in 339 upazilas out of 487 upazilas. We are trying to reduce this gap but the truth is that, we are still unsuccessful at doing that,” said the BTRC chairman.
He also explained the definition of broadband stating that many people think that broadband speed should be 2 mbps or 5 mbps but that’s not important but what is important is that people are getting the proper speed of broadband from wherever that person is using the broad band from.
He also stated that he wants the policy to be in such a way so that people would get there money’s worth every time they use internet.
BTRC will send the draft to the ministry as soon as it is finished. After public consultation and taking opinions from experts and stakeholders the draft will be finalised. This entire process will take this year to finish, opined Sunil Kanti Bose.
According to the 2009 policy, by 2015 every union parishad should have been under broadband network.
Massive extension of mobile broadband coverage would give a real boost to the growth of Bangladesh economy, according to Rohan Samarajiva, founding chair of LIRNEasia, an ICT policy and regulation think tank active across emerging Asia and the Pacific.experts.
Apart from the government initiatives, he said, the country should encourage private entrepreneurs to make the internet available in rural and remote areas to reap the opportunities. But, the burden of taxation to the entrepreneurs has to be reduced to avail the benefit.
Besides, a study report—“ICT Infrastructure and  the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Why is IT Important for Bangladesh?” conducted by Alexia Lee Gonzalez Fanfalone of Toulouse School of Economics--- showed investing in mobile broadband in the developing world seems like a really smart move as it results in an average benefit US$ 17 for every dollar spent.

Revised broadband policy gets delayed

The draft of revised broadband policy has not been formulated yet, although the telecom regulator was supposed to prepare it by mid-October of last year. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is not sure when the draft would be ready. The need of an effective broadband policy was discussed during the just ended LTE Summit. BTRC, in July last year, held seminar and workshop with stakeholders for formulating a draft of revised broadband policy and said economic aspect would be prioritised. Earlier in July 2015, Former BTRC Chairman Sunil Kanti Bose said the Broadband Policy, which was formulated in 2009, was not successful due to insufficient a budgetary allocation in the national budget. In 2009, broadband policy was made by the government and at that time Sunil Kanti Bose was the telecom secretary. We made the policy with the help of ITU (International Telecom Union) but we could not make it successful. We have been able to install fibre optics in 339 upazilas out of 487 upazilas. We are trying to reduce this gap but the truth is that, we are still unsuccessful at doing that, said the BTRC chairman. He also explained the definition of broadband stating that many people think that broadband speed should be 2 mbps or 5 mbps but thats not important but what is important is that people are getting the proper speed of broadband from wherever that person is using the broad band from. He also stated that he wants the policy to be in such a way so that people would get there moneys worth every time they use internet. BTRC will send the draft to the ministry as soon as it is finished. After public consultation and taking opinions from experts and stakeholders the draft will be finalised. This entire process will take this year to finish, opined SunilKanti Bose. According to the 2009 policy, by 2015 every union parishad should have been under broadband network. Massive extension of mobile broadband coverage would give a real boost to the growth of Bangladesh economy, according to Rohan Samarajiva, founding chair of LIRNEasia, an ICT policy and regulation think tank active across emerging Asia and the Pacific.experts. Apart from the government initiatives, he said, the country should encourage private entrepreneurs to make the internet available in rural and remote areas to reap the opportunities. But, the burden of taxation to the entrepreneurs has to be reduced to avail the benefit. Besides, a study reportICT Infrastructure and the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Why is IT Important for Bangladesh? conducted by Alexia Lee Gonzalez Fanfalone of Toulouse School of Economics--- showed investing in mobile broadband in the developing world seems like a really smart move as it results in an average benefit US$ 17 for everydollar spent.