The Bangladesh government is reportedly planning a major overhaul to the country’s telecoms policy to speed up its transition to a digital economy and improve service quality.
According to a report in the Daily Star newspaper on Monday, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb – the newly appointed special assistant to the chief adviser – criticised the current telecoms policy structure, which is designed for voice services, not data, and takes an “obsolete” monopolistic or duopolistic approach to telecoms infrastructure.
Speaking at a seminar organised by the Bangladesh Mobile Phone Consumers' Association at the National Press Club on Sunday, Taiyeb stated that a fundamental structural overhaul was necessary to improve telecom service quality, the report said.
“The government is determined to dismantle policies that have stifled Bangladesh's data market by allowing certain companies to hold onto the existing fibre infrastructure as if it were a treasure trove,” Taiyeb said. “The more fibre you lay, the more business you create.”
Taiyeb also said Bangladesh has failed to position its communications sector for the digital and IoT age, with previous governments implementing digital policies that were “inconsistent, subpar, and globally misaligned”, the report added.
Taiyeb didn’t give specifics on what policy changes would be considered or implemented, but promised the reforms “will be meaningful and policies will undergo a thorough transformation,” the report said.
Telecom policy expert Mustafa Mahmud Hussain, who also spoke at the event, said any reforms would need to include introducing fair competition in the broadband sector, and a tiered ISP licensing system to support small providers backed by strict anti-monopoly regulations.
He also said Bangladesh must set a goal of achieving 100 Mbps broadband for all households by 2030. The government should also encourage adoption of next-gen technologies like AI-driven networks and IoT, as well as partnerships with global tech giants, to drive digital transformation, the report said.
Brining affordable internet access to rural areas is also essential, he added.
