Switching from 2G to 5G
According to a report published on March 10, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has issued letters to listed handset importers, producers and vendors asking them to discourage the use and trade of second generation (2G) mobile phones. The rationale put forth by BTRC is that since 4G services are already being offered in the market and the government is planning to bring 5G services, vendors ought to herald the country into its digital future by deterring 2G use and popularising smartphones instead.
While we welcome the BTRC's ambition to expand digital services for the vast majority of the Bangladeshi population, we are at a loss to understand how "discouraging" 2G use through supply side management makes sense when the demand for smart phones is still very low in the country. As much as 70 percent of the population still use basic phones and have no need for more advanced functions on their phone. Why, then, should they be required to pay thrice as much for a smartphone, if all they need is to make calls? We cannot help but wonder if the BTRC, in its eagerness to propel the country into the future, has forgotten that technology must serve the needs of the people, not the other way round.
Vendors are confused as to what BTRC means by the term "discourage"; we share their confusion as well as their concern. We ask the BTRC to clarify what they mean by it, and urge them to be more prudent in their analysis of the market for smartphones and cognizant of the needs, education and purchasing power of basic phone users. If we want more people to graduate from using 2G to 4G services and decrease the digital divide, we should ensure digital literacy of the masses, create affordable and compelling products that the yet untapped population need, and improve network quality across Bangladesh so that users in remote areas, too, can access 4G services. Rather than address these concerns, simply pulling the plug on 2G handsets would disproportionately impact low-income groups.
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