Tag Archive for ‘Bangladesh’ at LIRNEasia

Tag Archive for 'Bangladesh'

Call for Papers: Infrastructure Regulation: What works, Why, and How do we know?
Deadline: 05 December 2008.

Mobile benchmarks overtaken by events

on November 16, 2008

One of the main reasons for collecting and disseminating indicators data at the regional level is currency. By the time the ITU puts out its reports, two years have gone by, and the data are of historical value in these fast-changing times. Despite knowing all this, even we got tripped up this time. In attempting to release mobile and broadband benchmarks at the same time, we delayed the release of the mobile data collected and analyzed in early October and were overtaken by events. In the future, the data will be released without delay.

In early October, the relative positions of the four lowest-price countries (Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka) had changed only slightly, with India becoming slightly cheaper than Pakistan and Sri Lanka falling…

Comment
Tags: affordability, Bangladesh, basket methodology, India, mobile benchmarks, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.

GSMA urges Bangladesh to licence 3G to expand broadband

Chanuka Wattegama

on November 13, 2008

GSMA, the global trade body representing the mobile industry, called on Bangladesh to issue 3G licences soon to make broadband services more widely available.

Licensing the 2100 MHz spectrum band for 3G services would enable Bangladeshi operators to launch mobile broadband services, which their customers can use to gain fast and easy access to the Internet and online services, it said on Wednesday.

Bangladesh’s mobile sector has grown rapidly, with user numbers reaching more than 45 million at end-September from 200,000 in 2001, while the country has only 1.32 million fixed-line phones.

“Laying new fixed-line connections is expensive and inefficient, so high-speed mobile networks are Bangladesh’s best bet to realise the many social and economic benefits that arise from widespread access to broadband services,” said Ricardo Tavares, senior…

1 Comment
Tags: 3G, 3G services, Bangladesh, Broadband, broadband services, high-speed mobile networks, Kenya, Malaysia, mobile broadband services, Reuters, Reuters Group PLC, Ricardo Tavares, South Africa, Sri Lanka.

Natasha at UN workshop to link Disaster Management to Space Technology

Chanuka Wattegama

on October 18, 2008

From 13-15 October, 2008, The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) with support from the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction – Platform for the Promotion of Early Warning (UNISDR-PPEW) and the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) organized the Second United Nations International UN-SPIDER Workshop on “Disaster Management and Space Technology – Bridging the Gap” in Bonn, Germany. LIRNEasia researcher, Natasha Udu-gama was one of 134 participants representing 49 countries.

The 3-day UN-SPIDER workshop was notable in that it featured a number of German and international presentations on the themes of Session 1: “Space technology in support of risk and disaster management”, Session 2: “Vulnerability and Risk Assessment”, Session 3: “Contributions of space-based technologies…

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Tags: Bangladesh, Bonn, Early Warning, early warning systems, German Aerospace Center, Germany, Indonesia, Institute for Environment and Human Security, last-mile systems, Mile Hazard, Natasha Udu, Natasha Udu-gama, remote sensing, space-based technologies, telemedicine, United Nations, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations University.

Bangladesh doesn’t need a universal service tax

Nirmali Sivapragasam

on October 15, 2008

An article written by Rohan Samarajiva on Bangladesh’s proposed universal service taxes has been published in The Daily Star, Bangladesh; an excerpt follows.

Bangladesh currently has the lowest mobile prices in the world and perhaps the world’s highest mobile growth rate. Pretty good, by any measure. A universal service tax can ruin the business model that has given millions of Bangladesh citizens the opportunity to get connected to an electronic network for the first time and to use telecom services at affordable prices. Instead of solving a problem, it will create one.

…the same basket of calls, texts and apportioned connection charges (low-user basket, based on OECD methodology adapted for the region by LIRNEasia) that costs $5.25 in Nepal, costs only $2.46 in Bangladesh.

Yet, the low prices and…

Comment
Tags: Bangladesh, bankok, Broadband, OECD, Rapid Response Unit, Rohan Samarajiva, telecom asia forum, the Daily Star, Universal Service Fund, USF.

Talking contention ratios at Telecoms World South Asia

Rohan Samarajiva

on October 9, 2008

At the end of a long day at Telecoms World South Asia in Dhaka, I presented some of the preliminary results of the Broadband QoSE work being done with IIT Madras. I talked about the finding that the bottleneck in Chennai and Colombo appeared to be the international segment and that the first results from the testing done in Dhaka suggested the same applied to Bangladesh, with the ISPs using satellite (versus undersea cable) were suffering very high latencies.

The CEO of a Pakistan ISP, Mr Wahaj us Siraj, said that the situation in Pakistan was very different, with plenty of capacity available on the undersea cables and low contention ratios (1:4) being used. Prices of international capacity had come down radically in recent times,…

3 Comments
Tags: Bangladesh, Broadband, contention ratios, ISP, Pakistan, quality of experience, Quality of Service, Sri Lanka, Undugodage.

Bangladesh takes LIRNEasia advice, belatedly and partially

Rohan Samarajiva

on October 2, 2008

In December 2005 Bangladesh became connected to the SEA-ME-WE 4 undersea cable, but it took much longer for the people of Bangladesh to actually use the connectivity, because the incumbent government-owned monopoly BTTB had not been able to connect the country’s networks to the landing station in Cox’s Bazar in time. I was invited to speak on this subject at a meeting in Dhaka at which the then Minister and other senior decision makers were present (they had little alternative, there was a hartal going on outside).

These comments were written up as an op ed piece and published in the Daily Star that same month. In it I recommended the following:

“Without lessening the urgency of reforming Bangladesh’s regulatory framework, the immediate problem can be addressed by…

1 Comment
Tags: Bangladesh, essential facilities, rapid response, the Daily Star, undersea cable.

Why Indonesian telecom experts feel their regulatory environment so miserable?

Chanuka Wattegama

on September 24, 2008

Results for Indonesia in LIRNEasia’s Telecom Regulatory Environment survey show an interesting trend. Unlike their counterparts in other countries (Bangladesh, India, Maldives Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand) Indonesia telecom experts have given marks so low for different aspects of their regulatory environment that none of the categories, in any three sectors, meet the average of 3. (The options were from 1 to 5, 1=extremely unsatisfied, 5=excellent service) The one comes nearest is the score for Market Entry in the mobile sector (there are nine players in the market – eight national, one regional) but that too miss the average by 0.05 points.

The results do not show a change from the previous (2006) scores. The score for the fixed sector remains same as it was in 2006,…

2 Comments
Tags: 2008, Bangladesh, Broadband, Colloquium, fixed, India, Indonesia, LIRNEasia, Maldives, Mobile, Sri Lanka, Telecom, Telecom Regulatory Environment survey, Thailand, TRE survey.

Bangladesh government’s effort to slow down mobile growth finally likely to bear results

Rohan Samarajiva

on September 23, 2008

In its 2005-06 budget (Khaleda Zia) the Bangladesh government imposed a regressive Taka 900 tax on each SIM that was issued. We describe the tax as regressive because, if it was passed on to customers, it would hurt the low-user segment (generally the poorer segment) of the market more, because it’s a fixed tax that does not vary with use.

The mobile operators did not quite understand what the government wanted to do and decided to absorb the tax. They made various pleas and protests and got the tax reduced to Taka 800. Finally, in 2008, they decided they had enough and decided to pass on most of the tax to customers. As a result, it is likely that Bangladesh, which is experiencing the highest mobile…

7 Comments
Tags: Bangladesh, poor, regressive tax, rural users, tax.

LIRNEasia’s ED at Telecoms World South Asia, 2008

Nirmali Sivapragasam

on September 22, 2008

Rohan Samarajiva has been invited to speak at the 2008 Telecoms World South Asia Conference, to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 7 - 9 October.

This event, designed for South Asia’s top telecommunication players interested in building and managing a business-focused telecommunciations organization, is intended to provide an important platform for information exchange through dialogue between serious players in the region. The event will feature keynotes, thought-leadership presentations, interactive discussion panels and real-world case studies on ‘hot topics’ pertinent to the South Asian industry.

Rohan will make a presentation entitled, ‘Introducing broadband: investment conditions, regulatory challenges and addressing QoS’ at a session entitled, ‘Exploiting technologies for future growth and development’. Rohan will also be among panelists at a discussion on ‘Leveraging on next generation technologies to extend the service offering’.

Other…

Comment
Tags: Bangladesh, GSM Association, GSM Forum, Quality of Service, Rohan Samarajiva.

Asia-Pacific region leads high-speed Broadband connectivity, but wide divide prevails, says ITU

Chanuka Wattegama

on September 3, 2008

While some Asia-Pacific economies are world leaders in information and communication technologies (ICT) where broadband access is ultra-high speed, affordable and close to ubiquitous, in most of the region’s poorer countries Internet access remains limited and predominantly low-speed.

This is what ITU’s Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Report for the Asia-Pacific region 2008 says. It was released at ITU TELECOM ASIA 2008, Bangkok, Thailand yesterday (Sept 2, 2008).

The Report finds evidence that ICTs and broadband uptake foster growth and development, but the question remains as to the optimal speed that should be targeted in view of limited resources.

The area in which the region really stands out is the uptake of advanced Internet technologies, especially broadband Internet access. The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s largest broadband market with a 39…

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Tags: 3G, Asia-Pacific, Bangkok, Bangladesh, Broadband, broadband access, broadband and triple-play services, broadband Internet access, broadband Internet subscribers, broadband technologies, Cambodia, China, communication services, communication technologies, continuous high-speed Internet access, desirable and valuable online services, Distance Learning, fibre optic, Fixed and mobile broadband technologies, HIGH-speed Internet access, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Internet technologies, Internet Telephony, IP telephony, ITU TELECOM, Japan, Laos, Maldives, mobile phones, Myanmar, poorer countries Internet access remains, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, Tonga, ubiquitous Internet access plan combining, ultra-high speed Internet applications, USD, Wi-Fi.

India, Bangladesh to compete in broadband

Chanuka Wattegama

on August 28, 2008

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…

2 Comments
Tags: Bangladesh, broadband wireless access, India, ISP, The Times, wireless access.

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

Ayesha Zainudeen

on August 26, 2008

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…

Comment
Tags: Americas, Asia, Asia-Pacific, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Europe, Frost & Sullivan, India, Indonesia, Jeff Teh, Laos, Pakistan, prepaid services, Sri Lanka, USD, Vietnam.

LIRNEasia’s rapid response kindles quality in Bangladesh broadband

Chanuka Wattegama

on August 8, 2008

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…

Comment
Tags: access devices, Bangladesh, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, Broadband, broadband services, broadband wireless access, DHAKA, European Union, Grameen Cybernet Ltd, India, Quality of Service, radio systems, Sri Lanka, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Sri Lanka, USD, wireless access.

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

Rohan Samarajiva

on July 27, 2008

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…

3 Comments
Tags: Bangladesh, Daily Star, international voice, SAARC, Sri Lanka, tariffs, The Dawn, the Mirror, Vietnam.

Will you be virtual too?

Chanuka Wattegama

on May 14, 2008

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,…

1 Comment
Tags: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Virtual Office, Virtual Organisation, Virtual Team.

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