Prime Minister's ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy said the government has a plan to amend the existing telecommunication policy in order to ensure people of all levels have access to internet facilities.
He said: "We are placing emphasis on the development of information and communication technology (ICT) sector to ensure people of all levels have access to internet facilities. To fulfill the target, the existing telecommunication policy has to be amended.”
While addressing the inaugural function of the Digital Investment Summit at a city hotel on Thursday, he said: “The government is determined to make internet access available to all, aiming to supplement efforts to build a Digital Bangladesh by 2021."
The Digital Investment Summit was organised to attract investment in the ICT sector for leveraging economic growth in the country, reported BSS.
State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Telenor President Jon Fredrik Bakaas, among others, addressed the function with President of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) Shameem Ahsan in the chair.
Joy said Bangladesh now holds the 145th position in the world in terms of GDP, and it requires implementing massive ICT-based programmes to become a leading IT-advanced country.
He said: "We have been successful at eliminating our poverty significantly, as the poverty level has reduced to 26% in 2014 from 40% in 2008."
Highlighting various remarkable progresses achieved in the past six years, the ICT advisor said Bangladesh has witnessed a notable progress in different indicators of the education sector, including checking dropout rate, enhancing students' enrolment as well as increasing the literacy rate.
Bangladesh has a bright prospect in expansion of the ICT industry. Joy, also an eminent IT expert, said internet and mobile penetration has increased sharply in the past couple of years due to time-befitting telecom and ICT policies taken by the present government.
