100mn rural people to get high-speed internet access within 2020
According to a latest study, 54 percent rural households in Bangladesh do not have access to internet and experts fear that ‘digital divide’ could hinder the e-governance progress.
About 100 million rural people in Bangladesh are going to get high-speed internet access by the end of 2020.
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, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
According to the project progress report, broadband network is being set up in 2,600 unions under 448 upazilas of 63 districts.
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It will help eliminate discrimination between urban and rural areas and the benefits of digital technology will be easily available in rural areas, the ministry said.
According to a latest study, 54 percent rural households in Bangladesh do not have access to internet and experts fear that 'digital divide' could hinder the e-governance progress.
Research findings unveiled on Sept 13 show that 59 percent of rural households do not have access to a smartphone and 49 percent have no access to computers.
The study, carried out by Brac Institute of Governance and Development, surveyed 6,500 rural households to develop a Digital Literacy Index that illustrates the current state of digital literacy in rural Bangladesh.
