Importance of Internet for development in the context of Bangladesh

Introduction

Internet plays a very vital role in our present generations. It has proved itself very helpful tool in
many ways. It has opened a gateway for people; it made it possible for us to communicate with
people from the other side of the world. Allowing us to meet new people and discover new
places even though we are not there. Despite the presence of online Internet service in
Bangladesh, its scope is largely underutilized. Though there has been lot of investments and
improvements in telecommunication sector, compared to other Asian countries our country lacks
in technology as well as economic growth and both factors are interrelated. The main issue is to
get the complete knowledge of proper use and facilities the internet can provide which is to be
utilized for developing Bangladesh.

Importance of this topic

This topic is important because majority of people in Bangladesh (especially in rural sector) have
no complete idea about internet services and their percentage is quite high. Keeping this in mind
many service providers are trying to encourage these people through different process of
advertisement and special benefits. Other than low price offering it is required to teach the proper
use of internet so that they get facilities and benefits from it. Technically we are far behind from
other advanced country and I wish to convey this message that we should also focus on this
sector and give more importance and priority so that the gap of knowledge with technically
advanced countries become small.

How internet can be helpful to different sectors

The use of internet can help overcome many of the basic development challenges faced by
growing economies. With the huge potential of broadband Internet for economic growth and
development, developing countries can hardly afford to wait until there are more studies showing
clear evidence that the technology aids economic growth, as they are already lagging behind the
advanced nations with regard to Information and Communication Technology. Most developing
countries recognize this reality and are keen to promote broadband Internet development and
many are developing national broadband strategies or policies. There are many statistical
evidences suggesting that the countries that export more tend to have higher Internet penetration
than countries that export less. Enterprises in developing economies that export are far more
likely than other enterprises to use the Internet to communicate with their clients and suppliers.
This is due to relatively cost-effective method for international communications relative to
international telephone calls or faxes. Not only economic improvements, internet can give a
better edge of improving educational activities. This is because Internet can deliver information
more quickly, at a lower cost, whenever a learner wants, as often as a learner wants, and with
more interaction and dialogue, the Internet will replace the traditional in-person classroom
delivery system as the dominant mode of delivery for education and delivery. But the Internet
will not replace in-person learning. Online journals and libraries, e-books, virtual classrooms and
many other things helped researchers and learners to learn in more convenient way. Also
nowadays internet banking has been added as a benefit to the banking customers. “Internet
Banking” refers to systems that enable bank customers to access accounts and general
information on bank products and services through a personal computer (PC) or other intelligent
devices. Numerous factors including competitive cost, customer service, and demographic
considerations – are motivating banks to evaluate their technology and assess their electronic
commerce and Internet banking strategies.

Recent Condition

Although it could do much more, still availability of online Internet service is making significant
positive changes in the country. The benefits for business communications, both with respect to
cost savings and speed, are noteworthy. Families with members staying abroad are welcoming
the Internet for frequent and cheaper communication. Researchers are getting valuable
information quickly at modest cost, which was not possible before. A multinational company
stated that the company's monthly e-mail bill has been reduced due to usage of internet service.
Other business houses and entertainment stars are gradually coming to accept the Internet as their
ultimate communication tool. The ISPs are carrying out special promotional activities to provide
Web page services.
A new social class is being created, mainly amongst the young generation who find the Internet
an effective tool for their career development and the globalization of their thoughts and
creativity. Many Internet users have stated that a whole new world has been opened to them, they
are getting a new source of knowledge, and they are also making relations with many good
friends and organizations worldwide. But some say that going online is a very costly habit,
which sometimes appears as an addiction and causes a big waste of time. A group of young
people, notably from the affluent section of the society, is abusing the Internet by using it mostly
for entertainment, which is certainly not a healthy practice for a poor country like us. But the
saddest news is that Bangladesh has yet to set up an academic network to provide Internet access
to the large number of university teachers, students, scientists, and researchers who play vital
roles in building a better nation.

Now there are six Mobile Phone Operators in Bangladesh and all of them are providing internet
services. Apart from that there are many Broadband service providers and recently
WiMAX service is available from some internet service providers too. These providers
are competing against each other with different marketing strategies which do have some
beneficial impact on people. The number of internet users in Bangladesh has increased as
of March 2009 is over 600,000 compared to 100,000 in 2000.

Problems and their Solutions

The development initiatives in Bangladesh are passing through many constraints. The main
source of connectivity, telephone is not available in this country. Bangladesh is the country of
lowest teledensity in the world. Like many other developing countries, Bangladesh suffers from
inadequate infrastructure, outdated telephone systems, limited access to telephone and computer,
poor service quality with high price, lack of qualified personnel, low level of literacy and IT
skill, as well as cultural and language barriers (WTO, 1998). Main obstacle of using the Internet
in Bangladesh is its distribution. The Internet facility is still an urban privilege in Bangladesh as
the telephone connections are more concentrated in urban areas, especially Dhaka based. The
populations living outside urban areas are mostly deprived of gaining the Internet benefit though
they have the potentials. Despite suffering from multi-dimensional problems in Internet access,
Bangladesh has the potentials of gaining success in using Internet in education, development,
business and other service sectors. Not all of our country’s people are familiar with the computer
operation. As Internet is a computer dependent communication media, they normally face two-
dimensional complex, simultaneously in operating the computer as well as in handling Internet
technology. If they find that it is easy to understand and fewer complexes to use people will
adopt internet. Other than these the most important aspect is that the services that the provider is
giving should be cheaper with high band-width connectivity. We are lagging behind if we are
compared to our neighboring countries. So government should invest and give priority to this
sector mostly because it plays an important role in developing a country.

Conclusion

The advent of the Internet kindles hope of bridging the wide information gap between north and
south created over the past several decades. Nothing in human history has had greater potential
to make more information more readily available to more people at low cost. Like everything
else in the world it has a good and a bad side to it. If we choose the right path of this innovation
we will definitely make ourselves useful towards our country growth and development.

Reference

http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia/bd.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Bangladesh