Senior Correspondent,
bdnews24.com
Published: 14 Jan 2021 03:06 AM BdST
Updated: 14 Jan 2021 03:06 AM BdST
The number of broadband internet connections in Bangladesh has increased by more than 65 percent in the 10 months of the coronavirus pandemic from March to December 2020. );
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The number of broadband internet connections was 5.7 million in February last year before the onset of the outbreak, according to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission or BTRC.
The number reached 9.7 million in December after growing much faster than the previous years, as the people hunkered down at home, doing most of the jobs online.
The educational institutions held classes online while many job holders and businessmen held meetings over the internet. Many resorted to online shopping to avoid gatherings.
Online child sexual abuse:Industry players ignore govt fiat on partnering IWF
January 03, 2021
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Of over 150 ISPs asked to ally with the Internet Watch Foundation, only Tata Communications has signed up Three years after the government asked internet players to partner with Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to help prevent access to Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) online, only one out of over 150 operational Internet Service Providers have signed up.
IWF had approached large service providers like Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone and Tata Telecommunications back in 2017 to try and get them to sign up. “This is something they all, with the exception of Tata Communications, ignored, and the government failed to enforce,” Susie Hargreaves, Chief Executive, IWF, told
Broadband connections skyrocket
Star Business Report
Star Business Report
The number of broadband internet connections has skyrocketed since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic thanks to the inclusion of rural areas under the service amid the ongoing health crisis which prompted affordable and faster internet consumption across the country.
The internet connections through broadband jumped 50 per cent year-on-year in November to reach 8.6 million, according to data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
The number of connections witnessed a leap in March, when Bangladesh first reported its first coronavirus infection, as it added over 23 lakh new subscribers in one month.
Overhead cable removal will resume: Taposh
Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh. File photo Star Online Report Star Online Report
Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh today said the drive to remove overhead cables in the city would resume again.
The mayor also called upon the Internet Service Providers Association and Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB) to remove their overhead cables within the stipulated time, said a press release of DSCC.
In response to a question at the time, Taposh said, We have extended the deadline by one month till December in response to their (Internet Service Providers Association and Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh) application.
To cater to the growing demand, the government has decided to go forward with the plan to join a third submarine cable. This submarine cable, third of its kind, will be fully functional by 2024 and will be added around 7200 Gbps of Bandwidth to the national information infrastructure.
Around the same time, the country s first submarine cable network is expected to be decommissioned. Built around 2005 and commissioned in 2006, SEA-ME-WE 4 is the first submarine fibre optic cable Bangladesh got connected to. Being the sole Backbone of the nation s internet connectivity, any interruption in service meant the entire nation had to suffer.
According to industry insiders, standard long route submarine fibre optic cable has a life expectancy of a 10 - 15 years. After that maintenance becomes costly and frequent. Bangladesh s first fibre submarine cable is already on its 15th year now. Human errors such as anchorage of seabound ships on the cable have resulted in some damage to the fir