Entrepreneurs demand reforms in telecom ecosystem | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
July 10, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025
Entrepreneurs demand reforms in telecom ecosystem

Events

TBS Report
12 October, 2024, 09:35 pm
Last modified: 12 October, 2024, 09:39 pm

Related News

  • Torrential rains cause flood in Feni, Cumilla, Lakshmipur and Barishal
  • US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • Beijing seeks to fast-track investment treaty with Dhaka, no matter who leads: Ambassador Yao
  • 3 Bangladeshi human trafficking survivors return from Libya
  • Business leaders stress Bangladesh-Thailand FTA to unlock regional trade potential

Entrepreneurs demand reforms in telecom ecosystem

The event, organised by the citizen platform Tech Industry Policy Advocacy Platform, saw the participation of around a hundred representatives from the telecom, IT, startup, fintech, outsourcing, and other technology sectors

TBS Report
12 October, 2024, 09:35 pm
Last modified: 12 October, 2024, 09:39 pm
Speakers at a roundtable discussion on reforming the telecommunication sector held in Dhaka on 12 October. Photo: Collected
Speakers at a roundtable discussion on reforming the telecommunication sector held in Dhaka on 12 October. Photo: Collected

The country's telecommunication ecosystem needs an overhaul to reduce the layers involved in voice and internet services, making them more affordable and accessible for the general public—crucial for a thriving digital economy, experts and entrepreneurs discussed during a roundtable in the capital on Saturday (12 October).

Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, managing director of BuildCon Consultancies Ltd, said, "The previous regime had created excessive layers of service providers within the voice and internet ecosystem, issuing licenses to affiliated individuals. As a result, consumers face inflated costs, while a handful of firms dominate the market due to a lack of healthy competition." 

Ahmed, also a former president of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators Bangladesh, suggested that introducing unified licenses and eliminating floor prices could lower the cost of both data and voice calls, as each additional layer contributes to higher costs.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

The event, organised by the citizen platform Tech Industry Policy Advocacy Platform, saw the participation of around a hundred representatives from the telecom, IT, startup, fintech, outsourcing, and other technology sectors. 

Special guests included Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida), and Mahmud Hossain, commissioner of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

AKM Fahim Mashroor, the platform coordinator and a technology entrepreneur, proposed forming an expert committee to devise strategies for immediately reducing data and voice call prices, which would lead to deeper market penetration. 

He noted that "Although mobile operators' subscriber numbers exceed the country's population, 45% of people still do not use mobile phones, and 65% do not own smartphones, contributing to Bangladesh's lag in global digital rankings." 

To address this, he called for an industry master plan to provide smartphones through affordable instalment schemes for low-income individuals.

Mashroor further advocated for toll-free calls for citizen services and subsidised data for daily commercial use, which he believes would boost digital adoption, enhancing transparency and efficiency. In his keynote, he highlighted the need for ensuring availability and quality of telecom services, improving cybersecurity, providing incentives, and fostering a skilled workforce to create quality jobs.

Fida Haq from Adorsho Praniseba and Didarul Bhuiyan from ABAC Technologies presented 20 key recommendations for the development of the tech industry. These included easing the lives of freelancers, boosting ICT services, supporting startups and digital commerce, reducing dependency on foreign software, and fostering local industry growth. 

They also called for a national strategy and roadmap for frontier technologies, reforms in government technology procurement, skill development, promoting cashless payments, simplifying app monetisation, strengthening national data architecture, and supporting local hardware production.

Fida Haq noted that "By splitting large IT projects and relying more on local software, Bangladesh could save significantly each year, as the country currently imports over a billion dollars' worth of software annually." 

Shahadat Khan, founder and CEO of TallyKhata, emphasised the importance of using artificial intelligence to analyse data, enabling micro-entrepreneurs to access bank loans more cost-effectively.

Freelancers attending the event urged the government to allow global payment platforms like PayPal and Stripe to operate in Bangladesh. 

Raisul Kabir, CEO of software exporter Brainstation3, highlighted the need for improved banking systems to facilitate international business for Bangladeshi companies.

Mir Shahrukh Islam from Bondstein Technologies pointed out that high tariffs on IoT devices are hindering the industry's growth and called for swift action. 

Meanwhile, Mahmudul Hasan Sohag, Chairman of Onnorokom Group, stressed the need for quality ICT education and training, and for appointing the right people to national tasks. He noted that ICT service exports, currently valued at $600 million, have the potential for significant growth.

BTRC Commissioner Mahmud Hossain assured attendees that reforms in the telecom sector, including reductions in call rates, are already in progress, with more changes on the way. He also stressed the importance of BTRC's autonomy, pointing out how previous government policies had weakened its effectiveness.

Bida Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud highlighted the need for complete digitalisation of public services to improve efficiency and transparency. 

He announced that "BIDA will form a Business Advisory Council, composed of actual industry players rather than politicised trade body leaders, to encourage domestic and foreign investment."

TIM Nurul Kabir, executive director of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry, called for greater coordination, collaboration, consistency, credibility, and capacity to attract foreign investment, areas where Bangladesh has struggled in recent years.

Mir Masud Kabir, managing director of Mango Teleservices, echoed these sentiments, noting that new technologies have the potential to attract both local and foreign investment, but proper policy support is essential to achieve this.

 

Bangladesh

telecom sector / Bangladesh / entrepreneur

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    SSC, equivalent results: Pass rate drops to 68.45%, GPA-5 also declines
  • In terms of stream of education, girls maintained their excellence as well. Photo: TBS
    SSC 2025: Girls dominate boys by over 5%
  • BBC reported that the phone call took place on 18 July last year while Hasina was at Ganabhaban in Dhaka. Photo: TBS
    How BBC verified Hasina’s leaked audio ordering deadly crackdown during July Uprising

MOST VIEWED

  • Graphics: TBS
    BB raises startup fund limit, drops upper age barrier
  • Workers pack undergarments at the packing section of a garment factory in Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Fatima Tuj Johora
    After US tariffs, jobs hang by a thread in Bangladesh's garments sector
  • Global Islami Bank rectifies 2023 figures, reports Tk2,259cr loss instead of Tk128cr profit
    Global Islami Bank rectifies 2023 figures, reports Tk2,259cr loss instead of Tk128cr profit
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Audit reports of most banks contain cooked up data: BB governor
  • File photo of containers at Chattogram port/TBS
    US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December
    CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December

Related News

  • Torrential rains cause flood in Feni, Cumilla, Lakshmipur and Barishal
  • US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • Beijing seeks to fast-track investment treaty with Dhaka, no matter who leads: Ambassador Yao
  • 3 Bangladeshi human trafficking survivors return from Libya
  • Business leaders stress Bangladesh-Thailand FTA to unlock regional trade potential

Features

Women are forced to fish in saline waters every day, risking their health to provide for their families. Photo: TBS

How Mongla’s women are bearing the brunt of rising salinity

19h | Panorama
Dr Mostafa Abid Khan. Sketch: TBS

Actual impact will depend on how US retailers respond: Mostafa Abid Khan

2d | Economy
Thousands gather to form Bangla Blockade in mass show of support. Photo: TBS

Rebranding rebellion: Why ‘Bangla Blockade’ struck a chord

2d | Panorama
The Mitsubishi Xpander is built with families in mind, ready to handle the daily carpool, grocery runs, weekend getaways, and everything in between. PHOTO: Akif Hamid

Now made-in-Bangladesh: 2025 Mitsubishi Xpander

3d | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

How S Alam’s Global Islami Bank cooked Tk2,259cr loss into Tk128cr profit

How S Alam’s Global Islami Bank cooked Tk2,259cr loss into Tk128cr profit

15m | TBS Insight
Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize before

Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize before

1h | TBS World
Trump threatens to impose 50 percent tariffs on Brazil

Trump threatens to impose 50 percent tariffs on Brazil

3h | TBS World
Can India stop water flow to Pakistan?

Can India stop water flow to Pakistan?

4h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net