New telecom policy finally gets nod

The government yesterday gave its long overdue approval to the draft of the national telecom policy that addresses the fast evolving scenario of the country's telecom landscape.

The new policy will replace the existing one, which was formulated in 1998.

The policy allows spectrum and service neutrality, a pressing demand of the country's mobile operators. It aims to achieve 100 percent teledensity and 65 percent internet penetration by 2021.

“The slogan for the policy is 'Telephone for All',” said Mohammad Shafiul Alam, cabinet secretary, after the meeting.

The policy has been formulated considering the fast evolving landscape of the country's telecom sector over the next ten years.

However, there is scope for revision from time to time to keep up with the changing scenarios, he added.

“There is a significant vision to provide affordable and universally accessible quality telecom services to support the nation's sustainable development goals and to integrate the country with the global knowledge economy,” said Tarana Halim, state minister for telecom.

There was no mention of topical cybersecurity and the social obligation fund under which the telecom regulator has already collected upwards of Tk 800 crore from the operators.

When asked by reporters, Tarana said the two issues will be addressed in a short while.

In its reaction, the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangla-desh said although belated, the new policy will have a positive impact on the industry.

“The government now needs to move fast and implement the policy immediately,” said TIM Nurul Kabir, secretary general of AMTOB, adding that he hopes the government will collaborate with the industry operators to make the policy a unanimous success.

The policy has laid out short-term, mid-term and long-term goals. The short-term is 2018, mid-term 2021 and long-term 2025.

The telecom division has set the short-term target to achieve 90 percent teledensity. The teledensity stands at 80 percent at present.

Similarly, the division is working to achieve 45 percent internet penetration over the next three years and 65 percent by 2021 -- from the current 27 percent.

The long-term target is to achieve 90 percent internet penetration.

There are also plans to raise the fixed broadband internet usage from existing 7 percent to 20 percent in the short-term and to 40 percent by 2021.

By 2025, the policy aims to raise the fixed broadband internet use to 60 percent.

The government also aims to ensure wireless broadband connection at the upazila level by 2018.

By 2021, it wants to establish 20 percent fibre optic cable connectivity and 50 percent by 2025.

The policy stresses that state-run mobile operator Teletalk and Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd will have to increase their capacities to compete with other business entities in the market.

It also says the service providers must comply with the performance standards and the quality of service parameters.