Why mobile internet in Bangladesh is not improving fast enough

Despite making some advancement in its global ranking for mobile internet speed performance, Bangladesh still sits low on Ookla's Speedtest Global Index, achieving the 105th position out of 145 countries in November last year. 

In October, the country held the 111th position among 142 nations.

The median download speed in Bangladesh stood at 23Mbps in November, up from 20.66Mbps the previous month. 

The UAE secured the top position with a median download speed of 324.92Mbps, while even neighbouring India secured the 18th position with a median download speed of 94.62Mbps. 

Bangladesh now has over 131.4 million internet users, according to the latest data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Of them, more than 118.9 million (more than 95%) are mobile internet subscribers, while the rest are broadband subscribers. 

"There is a positive aspect in the ranking of the Ookla's Speedtest Global Index that Bangladesh's position is getting better, but at a slow rate," said BM Mainul Hossain, professor at the Institute of Information Technology, Dhaka University.  

Another positive aspect is that the speed is not getting worse. If the number of users increases and telecom companies do not increase the bandwidth, speeds are supposed to go down. That means telecom operators are increasing their bandwidth, just at a snail's pace. 

"It is still not that satisfactory," said Professor Mainul. "If you want to watch Ultra High-Definition videos, you will need 25Mbps speed, but we don't have that," he added.

"It means that it is not enough for maximum quality service. But there is no denying that the trend is positive if you look at four years back."

Faulty policy a hurdle to faster internet 

Internet speed is one of the most significant markers of a country's digital development. But faster internet requires providing more bandwidth, and that is easier said than done.

In Bangladesh, telecom companies buy the bandwidth from intermediaries; increasing the speed would require them to buy more bandwidth. 

"If telecom companies give their customers more bandwidth, then the price of mobile internet will go up. Then it will not be affordable for customers from all walks of life," said Professor Mainul.

If the intermediary companies bring down the price of bandwidth, the telecom companies can reduce prices as well while increasing mobile internet speeds.   

Another aspect is that if telecom companies want to transmit high-speed data, they will have to change their infrastructure too. This would involve new investments for telecom companies.

Abu Saeed Khan, senior policy fellow at LIRNEasia, an information and communication technology (ICT) policy and regulation think tank in the Asia Pacific region, said that at the core of the high-price and low-quality internet is the formulation and implementation of International Long-Distance Telecommunications Services (ILDTS) Policy in 2007. 

The caretaker government born out of the 1/11 formulated the policy to benefit a handful of people. However, the current government is still using that policy and has even expanded it to favour certain people, says Abu Saeed Khan. 

He said that this policy has given birth to many "middlemen" who are unnecessary and non-existent anywhere else in the world. 

The middlemen are International Internet Gateway (IIG), Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) and International Gateways (IGW). 

As a result, internet service providers (ISPs) and mobile operators cannot buy internet bandwidth directly from the international wholesale market. "The mobile operators are compelled to buy bandwidth from IIGs only to give these middlemen benefits," said Khan. "These go against the interest of the general people and the state."

He pointed out that ISPs and mobile operators have failed to ensure the quality of internet bandwidth to the consumers. 

"Since there are three entities, who will you hold accountable: NTTN or IIG, if the quality of the bandwidth is bad?" asked Khan. "There is no accountability in this system." 

He said that the government has created a favourable atmosphere in the market to sell substandard bandwidth, adding that the regulatory body BTRC has not set any standard in the wholesale of bandwidth. 

"While at the retail price, BTRC has set a minimum bandwidth of 10Mbps for becoming a broadband service provider. This is contradictory," he said.

What should be done? 

Professor Mainul said that if Bangladesh wants to increase the mobile internet speed overnight, the telecom companies will have to overhaul the telecom companies' infrastructures. 

"If the country's vision is to become a 'Smart Bangladesh,' this speed will not do," he said, adding that mobile internet users can make do with the existing internet speed, but it does not match up to the vision of a 'Smart Bangladesh.' 

Internet of Things (IoT) devices are one of the important criteria of a digital country. And data is the raw material for IoT devices. IoT devices have already been used in Dhaka city to monitor the air quality. The readymade garment industry has also begun using IoT devices. 

It is predicted that a huge number of IoT devices will come to the country for industrial use. The existing mobile internet speed is not enough for IoT devices. 

The government will have to take the initiative to increase the mobile internet speed and bring down the price of bandwidth, said Professor Mainul. 

But Abu Saeed Khan said that to increase the mobile internet speed and ensure quality bandwidth, the government should revoke middlemen licences. 

"The government should take steps so that internet service providers as well as mobile operators can buy bandwidth directly from the international market," he suggested. 

"If the ISPs and mobile operators can buy bandwidth from the international market, the price of the internet will come down and rest assured the quality will be much better," Khan added.