Despite our seemingly relentless efforts to build a digitized version of Bangladesh -- one that can keep up with the pace the world is advancing in -- we still seem to be lacking in one of the key ingredients: Internet speed.
While we stand as the 12th country with the cheapest mobile data, our internet speed is shamefully low at 11.71mbps -- Bangladesh ranked 125th, among 139 countries, in the September Speedtest global mobile internet speed index.
This is in direct contradiction to our ambitions of building a Digital Bangladesh.
As the global scene becomes more and more digitized, with a lion's share of the operations being carried out digitally, having low internet speed just alludes to how far behind we truly are in terms of achieving complete digitization.
While we succeeded in shifting to a more internet- and tech-based approach when it comes to daily operations during the pandemic, unless we have the resources (ie, high speed internet) to back it up, the shift may prove to be more of an inconvenience than a sign of progress for the nation.
Internet speed, especially in this day and age, is crucial for our economic progress as well as to enable better opportunities for our country on the global stage.
The government's recent efforts to facilitate digitization are certainly commendable. However, as things stand, it is evident that our efforts need to be redirected towards setting a strong base to support our goals as a nation.
In order to improve our internet speed, the right infrastructure is paramount -- which, unfortunately, is still inadequate in the country.
The authorities must focus on investing in setting up the kind of solid and sustainable infrastructure required to power a digital nation. Proper research on the matter, especially on how many of our neighbouring developing countries have achieved higher internet speed, can assist us on our path to development.
If we are to achieve a truly digital Bangladesh, we must first ensure we have the solid foundation to support it.
