Optical fibre networks at 1,000 UPs soon
The government has decided to install optical fibre networks at 1,000 union parishads (UPs) to reach qualitative and efficient ICT facilities at a lower cost, officials said yesterday.
"Broadband Internet service through the optical fibre is essential to ensure quality ICT services and that is why the government has decided to install optical fibre network across the country," Posts and Telecommunications Secretary Sunil Kanti Bose told BSS.
He said a proposal for extending the facility is now waiting for the Ecnec approval. It will get the approval soon as the government believes that ICT to boost the country's economic growth eradicating poverty, he added.
The officials concerned said works are already underway to complete installation of optical fibre facilities at 100 UPs with the financial support of the state-run Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL) while all the 4501 UPs or lowest strata of local governance system have already come under internet facilities through the government's A2I Programme.
BTCL is likely to be entrusted with the charge of installing the optical fibre facilities at 1,000 UPs covering all the 64 districts in next two years at a cost of Tk 719 crore, subject to the Ecnec approval in line with the government's digital Bangladesh campaign under the Vision-2021.
They said most of the ICT facilities at UPs are being run through the relatively backward dial up system that takes a longer time for the internet connectivity charging relatively higher cost.
"Yet the ICT facilities are playing a very encouraging role for the economic and social empowerment of ordinary people in villages providing the information services," an A2I official said.
Telecom ministry officials said they expected the optical fibre services to ensure faster development, particularly in the agriculture, trade and rural-based industries sectors creating employment and self- employment opportunities in the rural areas.
The main activities of the project are to make available information technology among rural people with the installation of 11,060km optical fibre cable.
Sunil Kanti said the rural people could not use Internet in their house due to country's socio-economic conditions. So, the government emphasised to make Internet available at community centre, post office and health centre beside union parishad information centre, he added.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments