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.