Bangladesh: 20m to Have Internet Access by Year End

lonelyplanet.com

With vigorous attempt of the government to make more people tech savvy to achieve the vision of the Digital Bangladesh, internet accessibility is going to be doubled in less than one year.

An official at the ministry of posts and telecommunications told the news agency on Thursday that internet users in Bangladesh would be around 20 million by the end of this year with a phenomenal increase in the internet connections. Currently, 10 million people are using internet regularly from 1.1 million internet connections.

According to Internet Service Provider Association of Bangladesh, 60 internet service providers in the private sector are now offering internet services, besides the state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited.

Citing the findings of a report, the official said on an average 10 people used a connection for sending emails and browsing web sites.

Considering the phenomenal growth rate, driven by increasing number of ‘internet population’, he said they were expecting another 10 million people on the online trail from 1 million new connections by the end of 2011.

The number of internet connections was 0.6 million (six laky) in 2009 when the present government came to power with a strong commitment of making the country digitally enriched by 2021. Over the past two years, internet users grew by around 84 per cent to 1.1 million in 2011 from 0.6 million in 2009. The number of connections is projected to be 2 million by this year.

.unpan.org