Bangladesh has urged the development partners and international telecom giants to invest in the country’s telecom infrastructure, especially for expansion of the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Vice Chairman Md Giashuddin Ahmed made the call while presenting a paper at a seminar on the first day of the 4-day ITU Telecom World 2013 that concludes in Bangkok, Thailand today.
At the seminar titled “Connect Asia-Pacific Summit-2013,” Bangladesh and some African countries requested them to invest also in fibre connectivity.
Ahmed informed the summit of Bangladesh’s offer to the prospective investors in establishing the NBN through public-private partnership (PPP) initiative.
“We’re already getting response from different corners,” he told Dhaka Tribune on the sidelines of the summit.
“Some interested parties already contacted us. I hope we can bring a good response from them.”
He had separate meetings on Wednesday with two different business entities, which showed investment interest in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh tried to raise its case that if the NBN project runs successfully, it will not only serve 64 districts of the country.
It would also go beyond border to greatly facilitate international connectivity for neighboring landlocked countries like Nepal, Bhutan, parts of India (seven sister states) and Myanmar.
The district headquarters and rural villages of Bangladesh would come under the high capacity NBN coverage to serve the day to day need of the common mass, reducing the digital divide, said officials attending the summit.
Post and Telecommunication Secretary Md Abu Bakar Siddique and officials in the Bangladesh delegation were present at the seminar.
Not only Bangladesh, some other countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Tongue also sought investment in the telecom sector of their respective countries.
Tanzania’s Communications, Science and Technology Minister Makame Mbarawa arranged a press conference on the sidelines of the summit On Thursday when he showed their prospect in the ICT and Telecommunication sector.
Officials in the Bangladesh delegation recognised that the country should have booked a pavilion or stall at the event to better expose the country’s telecom industry.
“It would have facilitated us to arrange a press conference to let more people know about our industry,” said one of them.
Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Tongue had individual pavilion in the four-day summit.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh delegation, including officials of the telecom regulatory body, visited the second largest mobile operator ‘dtac’ head office in Bangkok on Thursday.
