Internet for 1lakh edu institutes by 2025: BTRC
The phase wise connectivity plan firstly includes all the city corporation, municipality, upazila sadar and union sadar educational institutes by 2023, which is 35% of the total target
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is planning to provide broadband connections to around 1 lakh different educational institutes by 2025.
The phase wise connectivity plan firstly includes all the city corporation, municipality, upazila sadar and union sadar educational institutes by 2023, which is 35% of the total target.
The remaining institutes in other parts of the country would be brought under broadband connectivity by 2024 and 2025, said Brig Gen Md Nasim Parvez, director general (System and Services Division) at the BTRC while presenting a keynote at a consultation workshop on Connectivity for Educational Institutions for Blended Education Bangladesh Broadband Policy-2022.
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The mentioned educational institutes will need a total of 13.89 lakh internet connections with minimum speeds of 30 mbps to 40mbps, he said at workshop organised by jointly by the BTRC, a2i and the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), a global coalition working to drive down the cost of internet access in low- and middle-income countries.
The targeted institutes exclude private primary schools and kindergartens, he further added.
In his speech, Posts and Telecommunication Mustafa Jabbar, the chief guest, said education is a fundamental right and the state has the responsibility to establish it.
"The state must also take the responsibility for the digital transformation of education to meet the challenges of the digital age," he said.
He said the Department of Posts and Telecommunications will build a highway of digital connectivity for educational institutions, but the Ministry of Education has to take its management responsibility.
He also asked the BTRC to instruct mobile operators to take initiatives to expedite the expansion of 5G technology.
BTRC Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder, who chaired the event, assured the posts and telecommunication minister that they will take necessary initiatives so that private mobile operators take effective actions for 5G technology expansion by December this year.
Among others, Secretary of Secondary and Higher Education Division of Ministry of Education Md Abu Bakar Siddique, Regional Head of Asia and Pacific of A4AI Anju Mangal, and Programme Advisor of the a2i Programme of the ICT Division Anir Chowdhury also spoke at the workshop.
