Building Digital Bangladesh
Digital Bangladesh is Manifesto of Bangladesh Awami League in The National Parliament Election 2008. In the last 12 years of Awami League government, with the visionary leadership of Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has become a technology-driven country with its goal set to become a modern, knowledge-based middle-income country by 2021.
To that end, the country has come a long way. Driven by widespread digitization in the public and private sectors, the country has seen exponential growth in its internet connectivity, mobile phone usage, IT export earnings, and use of ICT in education and accessibility of public services, ICT training by the Government has opened a new horizon in youth employment through outsourcing.
When the Digital Bangladesh efforts got underway nine years ago only 20 million Bangladeshis were accessing mobile phones. Today that number has grown to more than 147 million and is still climbing A total of 5,275 digital centers have been set up across the country that already served people 125 million times with services like registration of 70 million births, and providing essential information to more than 2 million overseas job-seekers Around 1.3 million ICT professionals, along with, 10,000 ICT entrepreneurs have become self-reliant, helping the country earn around $300 million over the years and turning Bangladesh as an emerging hub for ICT outsourcing The total size of the ICT market in Bangladesh was merely $26 million in 2008 which now has reached $600 million. With the launch of the country’s first satellite, the country is entering the space age on 12 April 2018, by using SpaceX rocket Falcon 9.
- Internet Connectivity
- Users: 123.74 Million (July 2021)
- 1,213 Unions Brought Under Optical Fiber Connectivity
- In September 2017, Bangladesh Connected with Second Submarine Cable
- Bangladesh will gradually have 1500 GBPS Bandwidth
- Ensure Uninterrupted Internet Connectivity
Mobile Technology
- 176.94 million users (July 2021) 99% People Under Mobile Coverage
- 95% Area Under Mobile Coverage
- 130 million Sim Cards Biometrically Registered
- 4G/LTE has been launched in February 2018
Outsourcing in Bangladesh
- 2nd Position in Outsourcing: Oxford Internet Institute
- 7th Most Popular Outsourcing Destination: Tech In Asia
- 22nd position in AT Kearney’s GSLI 2016
- Target Earnings: US$ 1 Billion in 2018, US$ 5 Billion in 2021 500 BPO Centres Planned
- 200,000 Outsourcing Jobs Annually from 2021
IT Infrastructure
- 16 Hi-Tech Parks
- 12 IT Parks
- 7 Software Technology Parks
- US$ 194.6 Million Tier-IV Data Center by June 2018
Incentives for Investors in Digital Bangladesh
- 12 Years Tax Exemption for Developers
- 100% Foreign Ownership Profit Repatriation
- Duty Free Vehicle Import
- Tax Holiday for IT/ITES Companies till 2024
- 10% Cash Incentive for IT/ITES Sector
- Duty free import of capital machineries
- No VAT on e-commerce
ICT for Good Governance
- Smart Card Replacing NID Cards
- Ministries, Directorates and Local Government Offices Interconnected
- Digitization of Judiciary: First Phase Done
- Digitized Service For Tax, Tender, Recruitment
- Digitized Application Process For College And University Admission
- National Emergency Service ‘999’ initiated in December 2017
ICT in Education
- 75,000 ICT professionals being trained by Government
- 170,000 educational institutions to have multimedia labs
- 24,122 teachers being trained on ICT equipment
- 2,901 schools have ‘Sheikh Russell Digital Lab
ICT for Growth
- Digital Centers
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- 5,275 Digital Centers
- 200 Types of Services
- 4 Million Monthly Users
- US$ 0.6 Million Monthly Income
- 5,006 Post E-Centres
ICT Sector Earnings
- 2008: $26 Million
- 2015: $600 Million
- 2016: $300 Million
- 2017: $800 Million
Budgetary Allocation for ICT
- 2017-18: US$ 1.43 Billion
- 2012: US$ 409 Million
Future of Digital Communication
2021
- 100% teledensity
- 65% internet penetration
- 40% people to have fixed-broadband
- 4,553 unions to have optical fiber connectivity
- $5 Billion ICT Export Earnings
2025
- Increasing internet penetration to 90%
- Reaching broadband facilities to 60%
- 50% of residences and organizations have optical fiber connectivity
Awards for Digital Bangladesh
- 2016: ICT for Development Award to ICT Advisor Sajeeb Wazed for outstanding leadership and commitment towards ICT
- 2014-2016: World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)” Award
- 2014: South-South Cooperation Visionary’ Award to HPM Sheikh Hasina for outstanding contribution in ICT
- 2014: WITSA Global ICT Excellence Award
- 2011: UNEC, Africa, and ITU awarded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for using technology to progress the health of women and children
