Page 53 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2021

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Bangladesh Rolls Out 5G

Bangladesh joined more than 60 other them, 11.91 crore access internet through infrastructure sharing for a modest quality
countries as it rolls out the fifth-generation mobile phones and the rest through of 4G services, the telecom expert said.
(5G) of mobile internet connectivity on internet service providers. "It was in the "Therefore, the government must overhaul
12 December 2021. State-run mobile election manifesto of the government the anti-broadband policy regarding
phone operator Teletalk will be the first that it would launch 5G by 2021," said optical fiber infrastructure. Infrastructure
to launch the super-speed technology, Subrata Roy Maitra, vice-chairman of sharing should be mandatory." According
while the private operators are expected the Bangladesh Telecommunication to Khan, Teletalk is still a defaulter in
to jump on the bandwagon next year Regulatory Commission. He says 4G and terms of payment for the spectrum. So, it
after the auction for spectrum in March. 5G services are not the same. While 4G is utterly unethical to glorify the operator
Teletalk will introduce the updated service deals with connectivity, 5G's application using taxpayers' money for such a
on an experimental basis in six areas: is industry-based. "So, the two should not politicized farce of technology. Teletalk
the Prime Minister's Office, Parliament, be compared." The first 5G network was Managing Director Shahab says the
Secretariat, Bangabandhu Museum on launched in April 2019 by South Korea and operator has urged the finance ministry
Dhanmondi 32, Bangabandhu Sheikh the US. Commercial 5G is now available to convert the spectrum fee into equity as
Mujibur Rahman's birth place Tungipara in 1,336 cities across 61 countries, said the government is the owner of spectrum.
in Gopalganj, and the National Martyrs' Arizona-based VIAVI, which offers lab- Responding to the absence of smooth
Memorial in Savar, said its Managing based network test solutions, in June in service for its subscribers, he says the
Director Md Shahab Uddin. So, Teletalk's its "The State of 5G" report. Abu Saeed number of towers, also known as base
65 lakh mobile phone subscribers will Khan, senior policy fellow at LIRNEasia, transceiver stations (BTS), of Teletalk is
have to wait for more days as the operator a think-tank based in Colombo, says a third of Grameenphone's. And, it could
is yet to get the clearance for its Tk 235 the introduction of the 5G service is not invest to expand BTS for a lack of
crore project to set up equipment at 200 primarily a political decision, not based investment. "The service will improve
points. Subscribers of the private mobile on the market demand. "Through this, the following an increase in investment." In
phone operators will have to wait until taxpayers' money is being wasted. In the March, the GSMA called for improving
the spectrum auction. The 5G technology backdrop of poor 4G service, talking about affordability by adopting appropriate
promises to provide data speeds at least 5G is nothing but a stunt." He says the policy and regulation in areas such as
20 times faster than 4G and underpins penetration of smart phones in Bangladesh tax, subsidies and business innovation
the great advances of the next era, from is not more than 35 per cent. And as there to increase mobile internet adoption in
self-driving cars and augmented reality is a shortage of 5G-enabled phones, Bangladesh. It urged the government to
to smart cities and artificial intelligence, there will be no service, he said. "We don't equip individuals with digital knowledge
according to Reuters. The technology need 5G as per market demand. We need and develop an ecosystem to produce
is expected to bring higher-quality full 4G service." The market desperately contents locally.
streaming and the ability to livestream to needs a conducive policy pertaining to
bigger audiences. "5G is the highway for
automation," said Shahab. The trial run
of 5G will be inaugurated at a program at
the Radisson hotel in Dhaka, according
to an invitation of the telecommunication
division. But the launch comes at a time
when Bangladesh is yet to benefit from its
3G and 4G technology deployments. The
reach of mobile networks has expanded
with 95 per cent of the population covered
by 4G mobile broadband networks. Still,
only 28 per cent of the mobile phones are
connected to 4G, while 25 per cent use
3G and the rest 47 per cent 2G, said the
GSM Association, an industry organization
that represents the interests of mobile
network operators worldwide, in a report
in March. Bangladesh has 12.92 crore
internet subscribers as of October. Of

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