Mahmudul Hasan

For years, the country boasted of being “Digital Bangladesh”, and yet beneath the slogans, the country’s telecom and technology sectors were often weighed down by high taxes, regulatory uncertainty and policies that made long-term investment difficult.

Internet subscriptions in Bangladesh posted a sharp recovery in April, driven by a rebound in mobile data usage and continued growth in fixed broadband connections, according to the latest data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

Startups and IT-based businesses may no longer have to pay turnover tax from the next fiscal year, as the government looks to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.

The internet regulator has granted the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) temporary access to 20 MHz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band to test a private 5G network aimed at transforming the Chattogram seaport into a smart port.

It is expected to strengthen network coverage in both urban and rural areas

The government is likely to scrap taxes on new SIM cards and SIM replacements entirely in the upcoming budget, a move aimed at making mobile services more affordable for low-income people who do not currently own a handset, according to finance ministry officials.

Just four years after entering mobile phone manufacturing, RFL is now expanding into local production of telecom service-related equipment, including routers and vehicle tracking devices (VTDs), under its Proton brand.

The telecom regulator has lifted the cap on international incoming calls for state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL), even as the company owes Tk 1,106 crore in unpaid revenue from that same service.

Four years after spending 1.5 million Euro (Tk 21.4 crore in yesterday’s rate) on a sophisticated mobile network testing system, the telecom regulator has yet to publish a final report on the quality of services (QoS) provided by the country’s mobile operators.

Fewer than 3 percent of manufacturing units in Bangladesh use computers or information technology (IT) in their production work, according to the latest Economic Census 2024.

The government has approved a Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) licence for Bangla Phone, marking the first major telecom infrastructure licence approval since the formation of the new government. The company’s earlier bid was rejected by the interim government.

The GSMA, a global association of mobile operators, has urged Bangladesh’s National Board of Revenue (NBR) to withdraw the 7.5 percent VAT imposed on spectrum payments and abolish SIM-related taxes in its proposals for the upcoming FY2026-27 national budget.

Alongside mobile phones, the regulator will also take action against other illegal radio and telecom devices

Reform plan would reduce ISP tiers, formalise informal operators and improve internet speeds

Mobile operators have called on the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to withdraw value-added tax (VAT) on spectrum and spectrum-related fees, arguing the levy contradicts global norms and undermines investment in the sector.

The decision was taken at a recent Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission meeting

After raising over a billion dollars, startups are struggling to make payroll -- and the foreign money is no longer coming

Banglalink and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have jointly applied to the telecom regulator in Bangladesh to launch trials of telecom services through satellite, allowing users’ smartphones to connect directly to satellites through a mobile operator’s network.

Telecom companies say nationwide connectivity is under pressure as outages hit towers and data infrastructure

On-demand service platform Sheba.xyz has launched a “Fuel Refuelling Driver Service” that allows customers to hire a driver to queue at a filling station on their behalf and refuel the vehicle. The move has drawn mixed reactions online as fuel shortages continue to grip Dhaka and other cities.