About 10 lakh land phone users in the country will be able to connect to and use the internet without establishing new connections by mid 2017.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has taken up a project in this regard to modernise the telecom sector.
One of the projects set in motion by the ENCEC on Tuesday was the establishment of next-generation network (NGN) for Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL).
This project will convert the backbone of BTCL to optical fiber network, which will help expand such facilities among the common people.
China will give Tk1,453 crore for this project at an interest rate of 1.5% in a 20-year repayment period, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said.
The project, that is expected to be completed by June 2017, will receive Tk407 crore from the government's fund, state-run BSS reported.
After completion, the BTCL will replace its old transmission system and offer broadband internet connections along with voice call services.
Under the project, one internet protocol multimedia system (ISS) with a capacity of 700,000 will be installed in Dhaka and another in Chittagong.