Ten crore rural people of the country are going to get high-speed internet access by the end of this year.
The Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) under the Department of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) undertook the Info Sarkar-3 project in 2016 to provide 2,600 broadband internet services at the Union Parishad level in this regard.
The project deadline is June 2021. However, it is estimated that 90% of the works to be completed by December this year.
According to the project progress report, the broadband network is being set up in 2,600 unions under 448 upazilas of 63 districts under the project.
Bikarna Kumar Ghosh, Project Director (lnfo Sarkar Phase-3) told Bangladesh Post, “Info Sarkar-3 project will be completed by December of this year. Through this project, high-speed internet facility is reaching to the village level. In the meantime, broadband internet connection has been provided to one thousand police stations at the upazila level through this project.
“Once the project is completed, it will be maintained by two non-governmental organizations under a public-private partnership. Internet Service Providers (ISP) will provide internet services at the village level.”
He furthermore mentioned that, as a result of this project, discrimination between urban and rural areas will be eliminated and the benefits of digital technology will be easily available in rural areas.
Earlier, State Minister for Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, “The union-level broadband connectivity has brought internet services to rural areas through the Info-Sarkar Phase-3 project. The Union Digital Center is becoming the hub of e-commerce activities. We are working with a view to availing ‘internet for all’, creating a skilled workforce, increasing digital services, and considering information and communication technology as an industry.”
So now digital Bangladesh is notonly a dream but also it has been transformed into a reality, he said.
ICT expert Mohibul Bashar Shawpon told Bangladesh Post, “Bangladesh is on the verge of setting a new milestone in building a ‘Digital Bangladesh’. As the fiber-optic network has now extended to the unions so high-speed internet is reaching the villages.”
Freelancers will get the most of its benefits.Moreover, distance learning, work from home, vlogging, and e-commerce earned popularity amid the coronavirus pandemic. After four to five years, villages will turn into tech hub if people receive high-speed internet services, he expressed hope.