Internet in Bangladesh

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Like many developed and developing countries, the Internet in Bangladesh has witnessed
phenomenal growth. Although facing many constraints in expanding Internet access and use,
development of the Internet and Information Technology are high government priorities. In
2013, Internet users in Bangladesh increased to 33 million.[1]

Contents
 1 Internet top-level domain
 2 Evolution
 3 Usage
 4 Service quality
 5 Internet services
o 5.1 National Internet Exchanges (NIXs) and International Internet Gateways
(IIGs)
o 5.2 Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
o 5.3 Mobile operators
o 5.4 Broadband
 5.4.1 List of Broadband internet service provider
o 5.5 WiMAX
o 5.6 Cyber cafés and Local Service Providers (LSPs)
 6 Internet censorship and surveillance
 7 See also
 8 References
 9 External links

Internet top-level domain

The top-level domain for Bangladesh is .bd.

Evolution
Starting in the early 1990s, Bangladesh had dialup access to e-mail using the Bulletin Board
Systems (BBSs) of a few local providers, but the number of users did not total more than 500.
Users were charged by the kilobyte and email was transferred from the BBS service providers to
the rest of the world by international dialup using UUCP.

In June 1996 the first VSAT base data circuit in the country was commissioned and the
Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) granted licenses to two Internet Service
Providers (ISPs). In subsequent years more liberal government policies led to a rapid expansion
of the industry, resulting in over 180 registered ISP's by 2005. ISPs are currently regulated by the
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) through the Bangladesh
Telecommunications Act.[2]

In May 2006 Bangladesh inaugurated new submarine optic fiber connectivity as part of the 16
country consortium SEA-ME-WE 4 project. The landing station is in Cox's Bazar, the southern
city near the Bay of Bengal. In July 2008 the Submarine Cable Project was transformed into the
company Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL), which is now responsible
for all services related to the submarine cable.[3]

Between June and August 2012 international Internet service in Bangladesh was slowed
following a cable cut on the eastern leg of the SEA-ME-WE 4 optical fiber cable and the fact that
Bangladesh does not have an alternative submarine cable or other high-speed international
connections. In 2014 the new SEA-ME-WE 5 cable is expected to provide an alternative
operating at 100 Gbit/s, roughly 10 times faster than the current connection.[4]

Usage
The number of Internet subscriptions in Bangladesh grew from 186,000 in 2000 to 617,300 in
2009.[5] However, only 0.4% of the population used the Internet in 2009 giving Bangladesh one
of the lowest usage percentages in the world, ahead of only North Korea, Myanmar, and Sierra
Leone.[6] This limited Internet penetration is due to many factors, including: high costs, little
local content, limited or poor service quality, lack of infrastructure with the last mile often
limited to dial-up, too many providers competing in a relatively small market, and low literacy
rates.[7] By 2011 however, the number of Internet users in Bangladesh had seen phenomenal
growth of over 900% bringing the total number of users to 5,501,609 (3.5% of the total
population) mainly due to wide availability of mobile Internet access.[8]

In April 2010, Akhtaruzzaman Manju, president of Internet Service Providers' Association of

Bangladesh, said "we've estimated that nearly 10 million people in the country are using 800,000
Internet connections on sharing basis", adding the number of Internet users in the country is
increasing roughly 15-16 percent a year.[9] “This increased Internet penetration will result in a
2.6 per cent contribution to the country’s GDP by 2020, while creating 129 thousand more jobs
by the same year” the research added.[10]

The main obstacle to using the Internet in Bangladesh is its distribution. The Internet is still an
urban privilege because telephone connections are more concentrated in urban areas, particularly
in and around Dhaka. Mobile operators are providing substantial services in and outside urban
areas using EDGE/GPRS or EVDO.

Service quality
The Internet’s speed in Bangladesh is not among the fastest in the world but it has significantly
developed in the recent past.[11] As of April 2014, Bangladesh ranked 138th out of 190 countries
on the Household Download Index by Net Index.[12]

Internet connectivity with acceptable quality and reliability is generally quite expensive in
Bangladesh. Since connecting to the SEA-ME-WE 4 cable in 2006, the country has seen Internet
bandwidth prices drop significantly. In 2008, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory
Commission (BTRC) slashed wholesale Internet bandwidth prices drastically, from BDT 80,000
(approximately US$1,125) per Mbit/s to BDT 18,000 (approximately US$250) per Mbit/s. In
2009, after complaints that retail prices were still too high for slow, unreliable connections, the
BTRC indicated that they were going to begin monitoring ISPs to ensure that retail prices
reflected the reduced wholesale prices.[11]

The government sees information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a key driver of
socioeconomic development. This is reflected in the government's "Digital Bangladesh" plan as
well as the National Information and Communication Technology Policy.[11] Bangladesh is
slowly moving up in the world-wide ICT rankings, rising from 130th in 2009 to 113th in 2012 in
the "networked readiness index". But, while its ITC ranking has improved, Bangladesh still lags
behind other low-income countries of its stature. Progress is limited due to deficiencies in the
regulatory framework and infrastructure development.[13][14] And ICT leaders are concerned that
the annual budget does not support the government's ICT goals.[15]

Internet services
National Internet Exchanges (NIXs) and International Internet Gateways (IIGs)

All ISPs and equivalent service providers in Bangladesh exchange traffic via two systems, the
National Internet Exchange (NIX) and International Internet Gateways (IIGs).[16][17] The IIGs
provide global Internet connectivity, while all domestic Internet traffic is routed via the NIX to
minimize usage of international bandwidth.[18] The NIX consists of two exchange points known
as the Bangladesh Internet Exchange (BDIX) established in August 2004 and operated by the
Sustainable Development Networking Programme and the Peering Society of Bangladesh[19] and
the Bangladesh Society of Internet Exchange (BSIX) established in May 2004.[20] In June 2012
the BTRC announced plans to issue an unrestricted number of additional NIX licenses.[21] There
are two IIGs in service operated by, Mango Teleservices Limited[22] and the government owned
Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL).[23]

There are concerns that, with a limited number of NIX operators, only two IIG operators, and
with BSCCL holding a monopoly as the only operator of the SEA-ME-WE fiber optic cables,
limited competition will keep the cost of raw bandwidth high.[24][25][26]

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

In 2005 there were more than 180 ISPs operating in the country.[2] ISP's are regulated by the
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). In 2011 there were 111
licensed ISPs providing services nationwide[27] and 84 ISPs providing services in the central
zone.[28]

Mobile operators

Main article: Telecommunications in Bangladesh

Because fixed line penetration rates are and are expected to remain low, most Bangladeshis' first
experience with the Internet is likely to be via mobile services. An estimated 90% of
Bangladesh's Internet users got their access using mobile services in 2010.[7] Out of the six
mobile operators, only Teletalk offers 3G services in all areas, others offer 3G Internet service on
some specific areas and EDGE or GPRS GSM Internet service on rest of the areas. Operators are
working on expanding their 3G services on all areas. The sole CDMA operator, Citycell, offers
EVDO.[29][30]

Broadband

Broadband Internet [31]and e-commerce in Bangladesh is slowly progressing. In 2009 there were
50,000 fixed broadband Internet subscribers.[32] Though broadband Internet access is available,
the charges for high speed connections are higher than in other south Asian countries, though this
is changing. In Bangladesh Broadband is legally defined as 128/128 kbit/s, which is not in line
with the ITU's definition and many broadband Internet services may not be considered true
broadband internationally.[33]

List of Broadband internet service provider

Infolink

WiMAX

Three companies, BanglaLion Communications Ltd., Brac Bdmail Network Ltd., and Augere
Wireless Broadband Bangladesh Ltd., won licenses to operate WiMAX in Bangladesh in
September 2008.[34] The three firms purchased the licenses at auction for 2.15 billion BDT
(US$31 million) from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission under an
agreement that pays 27.50% of revenue to the government. Brac Bdmail declined to start the
service.[35] BanglaLion and Augere (branded as Qubee) launched commercial WiMax services by
the end of 2009.[36][37]

From October 2011 Access Telecom (BD) Ltd. and Tackyon started giving fixed WiMax
services to their clients.

Cyber cafés and Local Service Providers (LSPs)

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged
 and removed. (September 2012)

Expensive and slow connections available from individual homes has created a demand for cyber
cafés with higher than average bandwidth. The number of cyber cafés was estimated to be
roughly 800 in 2009, unchanged from 2005.[38] Cyber cafés were first regulated by the BTRC in
2009, but fewer than 150 had obtained the required license by the end of 2011.[39][40]

Many cyber cafés have expanded as Local Service Providers (LSPs) as a way to make use of
their idle (out of business hours) bandwidth. Because the root problem of scarce bandwidth
remains, LSP subscribers continue to suffer from slow connections and inadequate bandwidth
(96-128 kbit/s on average).[citation needed] A general complaint of customers and internet users is
that such subscriptions are good for nothing except for surfing rich-text and images over the
web.[citation needed] The younger internet users in the urban areas have started to familiarize
themselves with other more data demanding internet applications and usage. But streaming
applications fail to work over low bandwidth. Games, voice, video-conferencing and the like also
suffer from latency issues. Further, these LSPs are known to forcefully cache web resources
(transparent proxies) and to aggressively block traffic related to the following applications in
order to save bandwidth: Windows update, TeamViewer and similar remote assistance
applications, Torrent trackers and other P2P ports/patterns, voice/video applications which
mostly make use of P2P architecture, online gaming and just about anything else except WWW.
Some LSPs generally block all ports except HTTP/HTTPS. Bandwidth/latency benchmarking
sites including SpeedTest.net are blocked to stop customers from complaining about their share
of bandwidth.[citation needed]

Despite these limitations, LSPs seem to do quite well by keeping the majority of the customers
happy with local FTP servers, mostly filled with pirated movies, software, games, TV-series, and
the like.[citation needed]

Internet censorship and surveillance

The OpenNet Initiative found little or no evidence of filtering in 2011.[41][42]

Although Internet access in Bangladesh is not restricted by a national level filtering regime, the
state has intervened to block Web sites for hosting anti-Islamic content and content deemed
subversive. Internet content is regulated by existing legal frameworks that restrict material
deemed defamatory or offensive, as well as content that might challenge law and order.[42]

The Bangla blogging platform Sachalayatan was reported to be inaccessible on 15 July 2008, and
was forced to migrate to a new IP address. Although the blocking was not officially confirmed,
Sachalayatan was likely Bangladesh’s inaugural filtering event. YouTube was blocked for a few
days in March 2009 in order to protect the “national interest”. The disputed video covered a
partial audio recording of a meeting between the prime minister and military officials, who were
angry at the government’s handling of a mutiny by border guards in Dhaka that left more than
seventy people dead.[43]
Facebook was blocked by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC)
for 7 days starting on 29 May 2010 because of "obnoxious images", including depictions of
Mohammed and several of the country's political officials as well as links to pornographic
sites.[44] The block was lifted after Facebook agreed to remove the offensive content.[45] During
the same period a 30-year-old man was arrested in the Bangladeshi capital on charges of
uploading satiric images of some political leaders on Facebook.[46]

The BTRC again blocked YouTube access in September 2012 after Google, Inc. ignored
requests to remove the controversial film, Innocence of Muslims, from the site.[47]

On 16 May 2013 BTRC asked the international internet gateway operators to reduce the upload
bandwidth of ISPs by 75% in an effort to prevent illegal VoIP.[48] There is speculation that the
bandwidth reduction is actually an effort to make it difficult for people to upload ‘problematic’
videos, images, TV talk show clips, etc. in the social media.[49]

See also
 Telecommunications in Bangladesh

References
1. ^ Rafiqul Islam Azad (31 May 2013). "33 million Internet users in Bangladesh". The
Independent (Dhaka: Independent Publications Limited). Retrieved 15 July 2013.
2. ^ a b "A short history of the Bangladesh ISP Industry", Internet Service Providers
Association Bangladesh, accessed 27 September 2011
3. ^ "BSCCL website"
4. ^ "Bangladesh suffers internet disruption after cut cable", BBC News, 8 June 2012
5. ^ "Internet users", World Bank, accessed 27 September 2011
6. ^ "Internet users (per 100 people)", The World Bank
7. ^ a b Bangladesh Telecoms Sector: Challenges & Opportunities, Ifty Islam, Asian Tiger
Capital Research, November 2010
8. ^ "Internet World Stats", Source: ITU
9. ^ "Roundup: Internet use on rise in Bangladesh", iStockAnalyst, 29 April 2010
10. ^ "Internet subscribers may reach 18.3m by 2020: The Financial Express, 22 January
2010", Bangladesh ICT Insight, 26 January 2010
11. ^ a b c "Internet in Bangladesh". Country report: Bangladesh. OpenNet Initiative. 6
August 2012.
12. ^ "Household Download Index (February 27, 2010 - August 28, 2012)", Net Index by
Ookla, 28 August 2012
13. ^ "Bangladesh moving slowly up in ICT: Analysts say weak regulatory regimes cast a
blight on the sector", Abdullah Mamun, The Daily Star, 12 August 2012
14. ^ Rizanuzzaman Laskar (22 July 2007). "BTTB fails to reap benefit from submarine
cable, Officials say they lack infrastructure to offer public the benefit of this fast and
efficient facility". Daily Star.
15. ^ Jamal Uddin (4 May 2012). "Leaders of ICT sector unhappy with budget". The
Financial Express.
16. ^ International Long Distance Telecommunications Services (ILDTS) Policy-2007,
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), accessed 27
September 2011
17. ^ "IGW, ICX and IIG", Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
(BTRC), retrieved 29 August 2012
18. ^ "Telecoms Infrastructure", Board of Investment, Prime Minister's Office, Bangladesh
19. ^ "Internet Exchange Directory: Bangladesh Internet Exchange", Packet Clearing House,
Retrieved 10 September 2012
20. ^ "Bangladesh Society of Internet Exchange", Packet Clearing House, Retrieved 10
September 2012
21. ^ "NIX guideline okayed", Jamal Uddin, Financial Express, 28 June 2012
22. ^ Mango Teleservices Limited, accessed 27 September 2011
23. ^ Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL), accessed 27 September
2011
24. ^ Sunil Tagare (9 May 2012). "Bangladesh to Remain a Monopoly Forever". Sunil
Tagare's personal views on the Telecom industry.
25. ^ Sunil Tagare (29 April 2012). "Who will Regulate the Regulators?". Sunil Tagare's
personal views on the Telecom industry.
26. ^ "BSCCL's Facebook post about its own monopoly power".
27. ^ List of national ISPs, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
(BTRC), accessed 27 September 2011
28. ^ List of central zone ISPs, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission
(BTRC), accessed 27 September 2011
29. ^ Jamal Uddin (29 July 2012). "GP denied chance of 3G test run". The Financial
Express.
30. ^ Jamal Uddin (12 July 2012). "Teletalk to enter 3G era in Sept". The Financial Express.
31. ^ "Broadband Internet - Make google my home page".
32. ^ "Fixed broadband Internet subscribers: Bangladesh 2009", World Bank, accessed 27
September 2011
33. ^ "Birth of Broadband - Frequently Asked Questions", International Telecommunication
Union, September 2003
34. ^ "3 Companies won WiMAX Licenses in Bangladesh", Hasibul Islam's Blog, 25
September 2008
35. ^ "BRAC's BDmail Network Declines Wimax Licence in Bangladesh", Inside Bauani's
Mind, 16 November 2008
36. ^ "BanglaLion to Start WiMAX Service in Bangladesh from 1st June", WiMAXian, 29
March 2009
37. ^ "Wimax in Bangladesh", Muhibbul Muktadir Tanim on WiMAX360, 22 December
2009
38. ^ "", Md Hasan, The Daily Star, 9 July 2009
39. ^ "Cyber Cafe", angladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, retrieved 10
September 2012
40. ^ "Most of cyber cafes run sans licences", Mehdi Musharraf Bhuiyan , Financial
Express, 2 February 2012
 41. ^ Open Network Initiative Summarized global Internet filtering data spreadsheet, 8
November 2011
42. ^ a b "Bangladesh Country Profile", OpenNet Initiative, 6 August 2012
43. ^ "ONI Regional Overview: Asia", OpenNet Initiative, June 2009
44. ^ "Pakistan Lifts Facebook Ban; Bangladesh Cracks Down", Rebekah Heacock, OpenNet
Initiative, 1 June 2010
45. ^ "Bangladesh unblocks Facebook after Muhammad row", BBC News, 6 June 2010
46. ^ "Facebook blocked", The Daily Star, 30 May 2010
47. ^ "YouTube may return in Dec: BTRC", Shamim Ahamed , bdnews24.com, 3 Nov 2012
48. ^ "BTRC cuts upload bandwidth", bdnews24.com, 17 May 2013
49. ^ "Reduction of internet speed is digital tyranny", Shafquat Rabbee, opinion,
bdnews24.com, 18 May 2013

External links
Abul Kalam Azad; Nazrul Islam (1997). "Overview of Internet Access in Bangladesh: Impact,
Barriers, and Solutions". INET97 Proceedings. Internet Society.

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