Mahmudul Hasan

Leading foreign investors in Bangladesh’s telecommunications sector have urged the government to reconsider proposed restrictions on foreign ownership in the upcoming Telecommunications Network and Licensing Reform Policy 2025.

The telecom regulator has decided to permit the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) and Bangladesh Railway to extend their optical fibre networks beyond their respective grid lines and railway tracks in a bid to improve internet connectivity across the country.

Early users of Starlink, the satellite internet service recently launched in Bangladesh, have expressed satisfaction over its high-speed and stable connection.

For the first time, the World Bank, which traditionally provides development project loans and budgetary support, has extended its assistance through a guarantee facility to support Bangladesh in purchasing liquefied natural gas (LNG), aiming to ease pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Bangladesh’s IT exports witnessed a slight rise in the first nine months of the current financial year, buoyed by growing global demand for AI-powered services.

True reform requires the courage to correct the policy missteps of the past

Bangladesh’s mobile phone manufacturing industry, once hailed as a potential pillar of the country’s digital ambitions, is bracing for a fresh blow after the interim government proposed a hike in value-added tax (VAT) at the production stage in the national budget for fiscal year 2025-26.

Say economists about budget

A deep-rooted divide in access to devices, internet connectivity, and digital literacy separates rural communities from urban counterparts

Starlink is steadily consolidating its presence in Bangladesh through a series of partnership agreements with local companies, with deals spanning ground station development, colocation and data centre services, core site hosting, transmission, and international internet gateway (IIG) facilities.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has decided to reduce the maximum number of SIM cards a user can register under their name from 15 to 10.

Four new companies have applied to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) for Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) licences, reflecting renewed interest in the transmission business in the country.

The internet regulator has reduced broadband internet prices at the consumer level by up to 20 percent in a bid to make internet access more affordable across the country.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission’s (BTRC) draft policy to reform its complex licensing regime arrives with bold promises — streamlining processes, encouraging competition, and attracting foreign investment.

The government is planning to significantly reduce its bank borrowing target in the upcoming fiscal year as it aims to narrow the budget deficit by scaling down the overall budget size.

The internet regulator in Bangladesh has granted Starlink permission to supply bandwidth from outside the country for 90 days.

Bangladesh’s interim government is preparing to unveil a rare contractionary budget on June 2, driven by a sharp rise in interest payment that is crowding out fiscal space and forcing spending cuts.

As part of policy reforms aimed at improving the credibility and accuracy of national statistics, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has been empowered to publish official data without prior government approval.

Handset production in Bangladesh declined significantly in the first quarter of 2025 as the grey market continued to dominate the domestic market.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has decided to issue a final directive to Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd, asking the mobile operator to deposit 5.5 percent of the total value of its tower sales, along with all applicable VAT and late fees, to Summit Towers Limited within ten working days.