Internet in Bangladesh
Encyclopedia
Like many developed and developing countries, the Internet in Bangladesh has witnessed phenomenal growth. Although facing many constraints in expanding Internet access
and use, development of the Internet
and Information Technology
are high government priorities.
for Bangladesh is .bd
.
using the Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) of a few local providers, but the number of users did not total more than 500. Users were charged by the kilobyte
and email
was transferred from the BBS service providers to the rest of the world by international dialup using UUCP
.
In June 1996 the first VSAT base data circuit in the country was commissioned and the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board
(BTTB) granted licenses to two Internet Service Providers. In subsequent years more liberal government policies led to a rapid expansion of the industry, resulting in over 180 registered ISP's by 2005. ISPs are currently regulated by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
(BTRC) through the Bangladesh Telecommunications Act.
In May 2006 Bangladesh inaugurated new submarine optic fiber connectivity as part of the 16 country consortium SEA-ME-WE 4 project. The landing station is in Cox's Bazar
, the southern city near the Bay of Bengal
.
, Myanmar
, and Sierra Leone
. This limited internet penetration is due to many factors, including: high costs, little local content, limited or poor service quality, lack of infrastructure with last mile often limited to dial-up, too many providers competing in a relatively small market, and low literacy rates.
In April 2010, Akhtaruzzaman Manju, president of Internet Service Providers' Association of Bangladesh, said "we've estimated that nearly 10 million people in the country are using 800,000 internet connections on sharing basis", adding the number of internet users in the country is increasing roughly 15-16 percent a year.
“This increased internet penetration will result in a 2.6 per cent contribution to the country’s GDP by 2020, while creating 129 thousand more jobs by the same year” the research added.
The main obstacle of using the Internet in Bangladesh is its distribution. The Internet is still an urban
privilege because telephone
connections are more concentrated in urban areas, particularly in and around Dhaka
. Mobile operators are providing substantial services in and outside urban areas using EDGE
/GPRS or EVDO.
(BTRC). In 2011 there were 111 licensed ISPs providing services nationwide and 84 ISPs providing services in the central zone.
or GPRS GSM internet service. The sole CDMA operator, Citycell
, offers EVDO.
and e-commerce in Bangladesh is slowly progressing. In 2009 there were 50,000 fixed broadband internet subscribers. Though broadband internet access is available, the charges for high speed connections are higher than in other south Asian countries, though this is changing. In Bangladesh Broadband is legally defined as 128/128 Kbps, which is not in line with the ITU
's definition and many broadband internet services may not be considered true broadband internationally.
, Brac Bdmail Network Ltd., and Augere Wireless Broadband Bangladesh Ltd.
, won licenses to operate WiMAX
in Bangladesh in September 2008. The three firms purchased the licenses at auction for 2.15 billion BDT
(31 million USD) from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
under the agreement that pay 27.50% of the revenue to the government. Though Brac Bdmail declined to start the service, BanglaLion
and Augere (Branded as Qubee
) launched commercial WiMax
services by the end of 2009.
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
and use, development of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
are high government priorities.
Internet top-level domain
The top-level domainCountry code top-level domain
A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....
for Bangladesh is .bd
.bd
.bd is the Internet country code top-level domain for Bangladesh. It is administered by the Ministry of Post & Telecommunications of Bangladesh...
.
Evolution of the Internet
Starting in the early nineties, Bangladesh had dialup access to e-mailE-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
using the Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) of a few local providers, but the number of users did not total more than 500. Users were charged by the kilobyte
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
and email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
was transferred from the BBS service providers to the rest of the world by international dialup using UUCP
UUCP
UUCP is an abbreviation for Unix-to-Unix Copy. The term generally refers to a suite of computer programs and protocols allowing remote execution of commands and transfer of files, email and netnews between computers. Specifically, a command named uucp is one of the programs in the suite; it...
.
In June 1996 the first VSAT base data circuit in the country was commissioned and the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board
Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board
The Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Department was created under the Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 to run the telecommunication services on a commercial basis...
(BTTB) granted licenses to two Internet Service Providers. In subsequent years more liberal government policies led to a rapid expansion of the industry, resulting in over 180 registered ISP's by 2005. ISPs are currently regulated by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is an independent commission founded under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001...
(BTRC) through the Bangladesh Telecommunications Act.
In May 2006 Bangladesh inaugurated new submarine optic fiber connectivity as part of the 16 country consortium SEA-ME-WE 4 project. The landing station is in Cox's Bazar
Cox's Bazar
Cox's Bazar is a town, a fishing port and district headquarters in Bangladesh. It is known for its wide sandy beach which is the world's longest natural sandy sea beach. It is an unbroken 125 km sandy sea beach with a gentle slope. It is located 150 km south of Chittagong. Cox’s Bazar...
, the southern city near the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
.
Market overview
The number of internet subscriptions in Bangladesh grew from 186,000 in 2000 to 617,300 in 2009. However, only 0.4% of the population used the internet in 2009 giving Bangladesh one of the lowest usage percentages in the world, ahead of only North KoreaNorth Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, and Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. This limited internet penetration is due to many factors, including: high costs, little local content, limited or poor service quality, lack of infrastructure with last mile often limited to dial-up, too many providers competing in a relatively small market, and low literacy rates.
In April 2010, Akhtaruzzaman Manju, president of Internet Service Providers' Association of Bangladesh, said "we've estimated that nearly 10 million people in the country are using 800,000 internet connections on sharing basis", adding the number of internet users in the country is increasing roughly 15-16 percent a year.
“This increased internet penetration will result in a 2.6 per cent contribution to the country’s GDP by 2020, while creating 129 thousand more jobs by the same year” the research added.
The main obstacle of using the Internet in Bangladesh is its distribution. The Internet is still an urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
privilege because telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
connections are more concentrated in urban areas, particularly in and around Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
. Mobile operators are providing substantial services in and outside urban areas using EDGE
Edge
- Aviation :* Leading edge, a line connecting the forward-most points of a wing's profile* Trailing edge, the rear edge of the wing* Zivko Edge 540, an aerobatic aircraft- Mathematics, science and technology :...
/GPRS or EVDO.
International Exchange (IX) and International Internet Gateway (IIG)
Internet Exchange (IX) refers to switching system which connects all the ISPs and equivalent service providers primarily for data traffic flow. It consists of two parts, International Internet Gateways (IIGs) and the National Internet Exchange (NIX). The IIGs provides global internet connectivity, while all domestic internet data communication is routed via the NIX to minimize usage of international bandwidth. Currently two IIGs are in service, Mango Teleservices Limited and the government owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL).Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
As of 2005 more than 180 Internet Service Providers were operating in the country. ISP's are regulated by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory CommissionBangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is an independent commission founded under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001...
(BTRC). In 2011 there were 111 licensed ISPs providing services nationwide and 84 ISPs providing services in the central zone.
Mobile operators
Because fixed line penetration rates are low and are expected to remain low, most Bangladeshis' first experience with the Internet is likely to be via mobile services. An estimated 90% of Bangladesh's Internet users get their access using mobile services now. Out of the six mobile operators, five offer EDGEEdge
- Aviation :* Leading edge, a line connecting the forward-most points of a wing's profile* Trailing edge, the rear edge of the wing* Zivko Edge 540, an aerobatic aircraft- Mathematics, science and technology :...
or GPRS GSM internet service. The sole CDMA operator, Citycell
Citycell
Citycell is the first mobile communications company of Bangladesh. It is the only CDMA network operator in the country. As of 1 March 2008, Citycell's total mobile subscriber base is 1.56 million, up 137 per cent or 680,000 from two years ago, giving it the best growth rate of the company till date...
, offers EVDO.
Broadband
Broadband internetBroadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is a high data rate, low-latency connection to the Internet— typically contrasted with dial-up access using a 56 kbit/s modem or satellite Internet with inherently high latency....
and e-commerce in Bangladesh is slowly progressing. In 2009 there were 50,000 fixed broadband internet subscribers. Though broadband internet access is available, the charges for high speed connections are higher than in other south Asian countries, though this is changing. In Bangladesh Broadband is legally defined as 128/128 Kbps, which is not in line with the ITU
International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
's definition and many broadband internet services may not be considered true broadband internationally.
Wimax
Three companies, BanglaLion Communications Ltd.BanglaLion
Banglalion Communications Ltd is a private limited company incorporated in Bangladesh on 5 Nov 2008 under the Companies Act, 1994. The company obtained license from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to operate Broadband Wireless Access services nationwide using WiMAX technology...
, Brac Bdmail Network Ltd., and Augere Wireless Broadband Bangladesh Ltd.
Qubee
Qubee is the customer facing brand of Augere, the wireless broadband business founded in 2007 by the former CEO of Orange, Sanjiv Ahuja. It has a mission to provide 'broadband for all' and is working to bring available, affordable and accessible broadband internet services to underserved...
, won licenses to operate WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
in Bangladesh in September 2008. The three firms purchased the licenses at auction for 2.15 billion BDT
BDT
BDT may refer to:* BDT, the ISO 4217 code for Bangladeshi taka * The Best Damn Thing, a 2007 album by Avril Lavigne...
(31 million USD) from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is an independent commission founded under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001...
under the agreement that pay 27.50% of the revenue to the government. Though Brac Bdmail declined to start the service, BanglaLion
BanglaLion
Banglalion Communications Ltd is a private limited company incorporated in Bangladesh on 5 Nov 2008 under the Companies Act, 1994. The company obtained license from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to operate Broadband Wireless Access services nationwide using WiMAX technology...
and Augere (Branded as Qubee
Qubee
Qubee is the customer facing brand of Augere, the wireless broadband business founded in 2007 by the former CEO of Orange, Sanjiv Ahuja. It has a mission to provide 'broadband for all' and is working to bring available, affordable and accessible broadband internet services to underserved...
) launched commercial WiMax
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
services by the end of 2009.
FREE Web Hosting
This is a new initiative in Bangladesh to promote internet use and web hosting. "Project BDesh" is one of the leading in this section. They are providing domain name and hosting service free of cost to all Bangladeshis' and NRBs'. Other free web hosting services are also available. People are encouraged to start their own blog or personal web pages online.See also
- Telecommunications in Bangladesh
- Internet censorship in Bangladesh