Bangladesh on track to digitisation
The international community is impressed with the progress made by Bangladesh in digitisation, said two top telecom experts.
Houlin Zhao, secretary general of International Telecommunication Union, and Augie K Fabela, co-founder of VimpelCom, Banglalink's parent company, sat down with The Daily Star for a joint interview on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the country's first 'IT Incubator'.
The IT Incubator was set up by Banglalink at Janata Tower Software Technology Park at Karwan Bazar under a government project that promotes startups in information technology.
While Bangladesh is on track to becoming a digital country, it needs to increase the participation of small- and medium-enterprises and startups in economic activities, they said.
Even Facebook and Google were start-ups 15-20 years ago. "Now, they have become global tech giants," Zhao said.
"If they can get this much success then why not the developing world's youth? They can also develop the next Facebook or Google from their home."
Though Facebook and Google are big companies, they need support from small and medium companies and the bright youths of Bangladesh can serve them by sitting at home.
The Bangladeshi government is very supportive of the SMEs and startups, which is commendable, Zhao added.
The ITU secretary general said it is not easy to establish big companies in developing countries.
"From ITU we can also present young startups on the global platform and place their success stories so that they can tie up with good partners."
Zhao has visited Bangladesh three times already and every time he saw positive developments.
"Bangladeshi people are doing extremely well -- better than our expectations."
Citing the case of 'Infolady', he urged the government to support projects of that kind in order to bring significant changes in society.
He also said the Bangladesh government should give more importance to public private partnerships for building digital infrastructure.
Banglalink and VimpelCom have plans to groom local youths in cooperation with the ICT ministry to give the sector a boost, Fabela said.
More than 20,000 students participated in Banglalink's Grandmaster idea contest, which sought ideas for mobile applications that can change the lives of millions.
In another 'Digital Bangladesh' initiative, over 300,000 students across the country were educated through Banglalink's nationwide internet awareness campaign.
"I think the ecosystem is almost ready. If we get spectrum neutrality, service will be easier to get and more people will come on board the digital platform," he said, adding that 4G service will accelerate the process.
The VimpelCom boss said they plan to partner with the local authorities to accelerate the 'Digital Bangladesh' vision. "We believe that offering digital services is the path to the future."
To become a digital service provider, the right skills are a must.
"That is why the company will focus on building and attracting the right digital skills to better serve its customers and training its staff to be truly digitally savvy."
Fabela also believes that a digital culture and the right mindset are essential.
Employees of Banglalink, the second largest mobile operator after Grameenphone, will be encouraged not to shy away from going into uncharted territories to better serve its customers.
Fabela called upon the government to allow the mobile phone operators to offer financial services as well.
VimpelCom has operations in 18 other countries and in all of them they offer mobile financial services.
"If we get the chance to operate MFS the business processing sector will also flourish," Fabela said, adding that Banglalink can provide greater security to customers' money and prevent illegal fund transfers.
About the proposed merger of Robi-Airtel, he said they are welcoming competition and will keep on doing their best to secure their position in the market.
However, he believes the merger will change the landscape of the country's telecom sector.
To secure its position, VimpelCom will likely have to make further investments.
About the government move to introduce mobile number portability, Fabela welcomed it, saying it will give customers the freedom to choose their desired network.
"Banglalink is expecting a good competition as once MNP starts the operators will have to attract customers by their offerings and benefits."
Zhao also appreciated the government's satellite initiative, saying it was a desperately needed equipment to make Bangladesh a digital country.
"Though there are some unresolved issues about the satellite orbital slot with Bangladesh and some other countries, ITU can help resolve it within a short time."
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