Tag Archive for 'Bangladesh'

India, Bangladesh to compete in broadband

by
Chanuka Wattegama
on August 28, 2008
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Bangladesh and India are set to compete for the same set of telecom investors with Bangladesh announcing auctions for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum close on the heels of India unveiling its BWA policy.

However, while Bangladesh’s policy is designed to attract fresh competition by keeping its existing operators and their shareholders (foreign and Bangladeshi) out of the spectrum bids, India has opted for a different route.

India has restricted BWA bidding to only those who either hold an ISP or a unified access service (UAS) licence, thereby either forcing companies to acquire ISP/UAS licenses before the bidding or keeping away new entrants who are unable to acquire such licences due to price or time constraints.

“Other contrasts are equally striking and show up uncomfortable flaws with India’s…

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Over 500m new mobile subs in Asia’s emerging economies-report

by
Ayesha Zainudeen
on August 26, 2008
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Aug 26, 2008, telecomasia.net

Asia’s emerging markets, comprising eight nations, are expected to see mobile subscriber net gains of 573 million by end-2012, breaching the one billion mark to close the year at an estimated 1.06 billion subscribers, a report from research firm Frost & Sullivan said.

In 2007, these emerging markets were home to some 487 million mobile users, accounting for 37.1% of Asia-Pacific’s total mobile subscriber base, the report said.

The report also said the mobile services sector in eight emerging Asia-Pac countries (excluding China) earned revenues of $33.27 billion in 2007. This is predicted to reach $61.35 billion by end-2013, at a CAGR of 10.7% (2007-2013).

Growing at a CAGR of 15.1% (2007-2013), the mobile subscriber base is expected to hit 1.13 billion by end-2013 to…
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LIRNEasia’s rapid response kindles quality in Bangladesh broadband

by
Chanuka Wattegama
on August 8, 2008
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LIRNEasia’s ‘Rapid Response Program’ is exactly what the name suggests. We react to immediate information needs of telecom regulators, at short notice. The response might not be lengthy and as comprehensive as we would like it to be, but nevertheless helpful, as Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) have realised.

LIRNEasia saw BTRC’s move to issue three new Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) licenses a positive development, as Bangladesh is certainly not a country that can boast of quality and affordable broadband.

This is what we learnt from our research:

Exceptionally high cost of broadband remains a key barrier that prevents the development of the BPO industry in Bangladesh. This is apparent when the prices are compared with similar packages offered by the operators in neighbouring countries. The annual cost…

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Call to reduce intra-SAARC phone tariffs published in Bangladesh too

by
Rohan Samarajiva
on July 27, 2008
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The op-ed piece written up on the basis of one of the LIRNEasia benchmark studies, has been published in the leading Bangladesh newspaper, Daily Star. The data and recommendations thus have been published, in various forms, in the special issue of Himal Southasian, in The Dawn, as a Choices column on LBO, and also flashed by AFP. As a result of the latter, it has got play in a number of publications, including in a Vietnam publication, the Mirror online (Sri Lanka), etc.

Telecompk.net has also started a discussion.

Indian papers were unfortunately too preoccupied with the Parliamentary drama around the confidence motion. And then Ahmedabad happened. But we keep hoping. Bhutan and Maldives may come in too.

The test of course is whether intra-SAARC prices come down. It…

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Will you be virtual too?

by
Chanuka Wattegama
on May 14, 2008
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LIRNEasia might not be as high tech as some of the big IT players but in our own way we have made a successful effort to make ourselves a virtual team. Not a choice – that was the only way we could operate in multiple countries (For example, in this cycle, TRE surveys will be in nine countries -  Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand; not to mention CPRSouth 3 in Beijing)without budgets comparable to what INGOs use to run regional networks.

We also thought our own experiences will be useful for others. Hence the Virtual Organisation (VO)  project. It had two aspects; developing the VO and using it to conduct LIRNEasia’s other research projects.

The case study is now out. It describes our efforts,…

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Network readiness report 2008 shows backslide in South Asia

by
Rohan Samarajiva
on April 9, 2008
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The 2008 Global Information Technology Report prepared for the World Economic Forum shows the five big countries of the SAARC backsliding in the rankings with  small exceptions in the case of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, which advanced from 86th place to 76th (using only 2006 countries; otherwise to 79th place) and from 118th place to 116th (again using only 2006 countries; if not, it would be in 124th place), respective.ly.

India went from 44th place to 48th (2006 countries only; if not 50th).  Pakistan from 84 to 85 (actual rank 89) and Nepal from 108th place to 111th (actual rank 119).

The full report is here

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Media Coverage on Mobile Benchmarks

by
Nirmali Sivapragasam
on March 26, 2008
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23/03/08: Mobile phone service costs in Sri Lanka are cheap, even for the poor (Sinhala), Ravaya, Sri Lanka

25/03/08: Mobile is cheaper in Sri Lanka, even for the poor, The Daily News, Sri Lanka

Two recent studies have found that Sri Lanka is among four countries that offer the most affordable mobile services to the poor in emerging Asia and the world.

The first study conducted the LIRNEasia, a regional policy and regulation think tank, has found that the costs of using mobile telecom services are among the lowest in South Asia for all types of users. For the low user, essentially the poorer user, the average monthly cost of using a mobile in Sri Lanka is as low as US$ 3.83 per month if using prepaid. Sri Lanka…

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Findings from Mobile Benchmarks South Asia, March 2008 released

by
Tahani Iqbal
on March 6, 2008
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According to LIRNEasia’s latest comparative study of price and affordability indicators in eight South Asian countries, Bangladesh emerges as having the lowest average monthly cost of using a mobile at all levels of use (low, medium and high) for different tariff plans (prepaid and postpaid). Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka follow closely, while Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan are seen to have significantly higher average monthly mobile costs.

The study compares mobile tariffs in South Asia using price baskets, derived from those used by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The baskets are calculated for low, medium and high users for pre- as well as postpaid tariff plans, factoring in usage charges (voice and SMS), line rental, connection charges (depreciated over a three year period), and…

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HazInfo Dissemination Workshops wrap up in Jakarta

by
Natasha Udu-Gama
on February 26, 2008
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On 5 March 2008, LIRNEasia in partnership with the Indonesian Institute for Disaster Preparedness (IIDP) will hold the third and final “Sharing Knowledge on Disaster Warning: Community-based Last-Mile Warning Systems” workshop at the Hotel Borobodur in Jakarta, Indonesia. Rohan Samarajiva, Natasha Udu-gama and Nuwan Waidyanatha will participate and speak at the event alongside several Indonesian speakers from various governmental, community-based and international NGOs such as BAKORNAS PB, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), KOGAMI Padang and GTZ GITEWS. As in past HazInfo workshops in India and Bangladesh, the Indonesia workshop will not only discuss findings from the “Evaluating Last Mile Hazard Information” pilot project, but also exchange lessons learned from Indonesian counterparts.

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Need for redundancy highlighted again

by
Rohan Samarajiva
on January 31, 2008
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Indian outsourcing sector hit by Internet disruption - LANKA BUSINESS ONLINE

India’s vital outsourcing industry, which relies heavily on the Internet, was grappling with a major communications disruption Thursday after damage to undersea cables thousands of kilometres away in the Mediterranean.

Internet connections may take up to 15 days to return to normal, businesses said, adding that telecommunications in neighbouring Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were also affected.

Powered by ScribeFire.

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Social entrepreneurship, the aftertaste of village phones and Yunus’ plans for the future

by
Rohan Samarajiva
on January 30, 2008
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The Grameen village phone ladies are slowly going out of business but Davos discussion still refers on the same model.

Many Are Already at Work on Fulfilling Gatess Vision - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

Last week Mr. Gates called on the executives of the largest corporations to add social entrepreneurship to their agenda, a leopard-spot-altering exercise at best. However, in challenging his compatriots, one of the experiments he overlooked was Mr. Yunus’s stunning success at Grameen Phone in Bangladesh, an effort he has pioneered during the past decade in partnership with Telenor, a Norwegian wireless carrier.

Intended as an experiment to extend wireless communications networks to the world’s poorest people, the program has become a remarkable success on multiple levels. Not only did it…

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Coverage for LIRNEasia book

by
Rohan Samarajiva
on December 31, 2007
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Click on the links to see the full articles covering LIRNEasia’s book, ICT Infrastructure in Emerging Asia: Policy and Regulatory Roadblocks.

‘BSNL’s monopoly over infrastructure a hindrance to growth’ - Financial Express (India)

Rural connectivity is now the focus of every telecommunication player in the country. Almost all stakeholders, from handset manufacturers to service providers, believe that the next wave of growth is in the rural areas.”However, India’s roll out (of telecom services) in rural areas has been slow. BSNL has the backbone infrastructure but is not yet ready to share it with private players,” he added.

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Malaysia to cancel WiMAX licenses

by
Abu Saeed Khan
on November 28, 2007
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The Malaysian government will withdraw some WiMAX licenses “as the market is too crowded.” Earlier this year, the government gave licenses to four companies to operate WiMAX. But they have failed to perform, the country’s concerned minister has alleged. And that’s why the Malaysian government has now decided to revoke the licenses. Read more.

The Malaysian mobile phone providers were denied WiMAX licenses in the first place. The regulator in Bangladesh is also considering to follow the Malaysian footprint.

Are the ISPs (or small and medium enterprises) capable enough to successfully proliferate affordable Internet using broadband wireless in the emerging economies? 

CAPEX and OPEX to run voice networks are fast decreasing, thanks to the evolutionery solutions. But the investment is “huge” for a green field data provider in a developing or underdeveloped economy. How realistic it is to forbid WiMAX for…

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False tsunami warning costs lives in Bangladesh cyclone

by
Rohan Samarajiva
on November 26, 2007
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Governments need to pay more attention to the costs of false warnings.  It’s not that this has not been said before.  But now we have real evidence from the region.

Gulfnews: Cyclone victims ignored repeated warnings

A false tsunami alert two months ago led thousands of Bangladeshis to ignore warnings as Cyclone Sidr approached, costing many lives, villagers and officials said on Tuesday.

“This time we did not take the number 10 danger signal seriously because the government has been issuing these warnings quite often. We have rushed to cyclone centres in the past and then headed straight back,” said Abed Master, a teacher in Golshakhali, one of the worst-hit villages in southern Bangladesh.

Officials said they had struggled in vain to persuade villagers - used to the Bay…

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Early warning worked in Bangladesh but now the challenge of recovery

by
Rohan Samarajiva
on November 24, 2007
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10000 is too many.  But it does look like lots of lives were saved by the early warning system that is one of the major achievements of Bangladesh.  Yes, if it worked better, fewer people would have died.   But which other country which is in the path of cyclones like Sidr has cyclone shelters for 1.5 million people?  Which other has a working warning system with trained personnel at the village level?  

Bangladesh’s cyclone | The cruel sea | Economist.com

It could have been worse. A robust cyclone-warning system saved thousands of lives. Some 1.5m people had taken refuge in cyclone shelters when winds of 250km per hour (155mph) and a 5-metre (16-foot) tidal surge hit the coastline after nightfall on November 15th. The economic fallout…

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