Mahmudul Hasan

The Daily Star presents the whole situation on a chronological order

ICT entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, who faced uncertainties due to an internet blackout enforced by the government to suppress protests in recent weeks, are now brimming with hope following the fall of the dictatorial Sheikh Hasina-led government.

Although broadband and mobile internet is again available in the country, most software, IT service and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies are experiencing significant productivity losses due to insufficient internet speeds.

Bangladesh’s burgeoning online food delivery sector has been severely hit by the internet disruptions, bringing operations of the platforms to a near halt.

A countrywide internet blackout dealt a massive blow to the lives of Bangladeshis, upending their digital lifestyle and leaving many businesses staring at huge financial losses.

The country’s promising export-oriented IT firms and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, which fetch close to $1 billion a year, are fearing getting dropped by their foreign clients after abruptly going off the grid on Thursday night for the internet blackout.

Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) has failed to realise dues worth around Tk 316 crore from different companies and falsely recorded it as “current asset” in its financial statement. 

The country’s three private mobile network operators are racing to grab a share of the rapidly expanding broadband market by offering fixed wireless access (FWA) services, which give users Wi-Fi connections without cables.

Development initiatives in Bangladesh normally take longer than usual to come to fruition. However, the project to set up a dozen hi-tech parks at the district level is moving at such a glacial pace that it may hold the government from attaining its vision of building a smart nation and readying the workforce for the digitalised world.

Police did not arrest Pabna’s Bera municipality mayor SM Asif Shams for over two and a half years, even though he had an arrest warrant against him for his company’s failure to pay Tk 191.63 crore it owed the state.

A staggering majority of customers of state-run telecom operator Teletalk are getting no solutions even after logging complaints through the call centre of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

Parliament yesterday approved a provision that will allow black money holders to legalise their undisclosed wealth without any scrutiny by paying a 15 percent tax, disregarding widespread condemnation from various quarters.

The telecom regulator has decided to introduce an artificial intelligence (AI)-based customer relationship management system and increase the capacity of its call centre in a bid to resolve customers' complaints fast and efficiently.

Bangladesh’s interest payments on external borrowing are projected to soar by 65 percent within three years due to rising global interest rates and an expanded foreign loan portfolio, which will put further pressure on the dwindling foreign currency reserves. 

The proposed budget for fiscal year 2024-25 offered no relief to startups and neglected their long-standing demands, in sharp contrast with the government’s vision for a Smart Bangladesh, where startups are key economic drivers.

Bangladesh’s IT exports declined in July-March of the current financial year, highlighting the country’s struggle to gain a foothold in the global information and communications technology sector.

The mobile internet subscriber base in Bangladesh witnessed a massive growth in April, increasing by 39 lakh, marking the biggest jump in recent years.

Currently, investors in the EZs and hi-tech parks qualify for a tax break for a decade starting from the first year of their operations. They are entitled to a full tax waiver in the first three years.

Experts are split on the necessity of rolling out 5G in Bangladesh due to several critical issues.

Is 5G merely a vanity, just another technology that offers nothing extraordinary? Or has it emerged as a central cog in transforming the digital space by resolving issues related to low speed and latency?