Foreign investors, including non-resident Bangladeshi citizens, have been again declared persona non grata in Bangladesh’s crumbling international telecoms business.The regulator has invited public consultation and clause 6.01 of the proposed IGW, ICX and IIG licensing guidelines explicitly forbids any form of offshore investment.
The nine-month old political government is keen to build “Digital Bangladesh.” But its regulator is following the immediate past military regime’s roadmap to improve the illegal bypass accounts’ digits. The military rulers could deliberately misadventure at gunpoint. The elected government, however, lacks that luxury. Possibly it’s time for some lawyers to get rich.
2 Comments
Amar
Very ecstatic about how BTRC are running these days. There is no need for FDI in low tech, Non Capital-Intensive sectors such as IIG,IWG, & ICX. After when the duopoly in IIG is broken there will be Multiple competition in every nooks and cranny in BD telecom industry.
haider
internal investment can be a good sign to enhance bangladeshi investors move a head on high tech oriented investment. But it should be well monitored by BTRC that after getting licence local company can provide service, not like what happen to the local investors on Call centers, they simply failed to attract any business from offshore. And not to mention Wimax may go the same direction. Bangladesh investors should be merged with foreign investors to rip a good fruit, it should be a 50-50 joint venture to have a win-win solution.
Nepal’s digital crossroads: building a transparent data governance framework
Nepal’s evolving digital landscape highlights a growing tension between constitutional guarantees of privacy and access to information, and a fragmented, outdated data governance framework. In a recent article published in Republica on March 17, 2026, Avash Mainali, Country Researcher for Nepal for LIRNEasia’s D4D Asia project, argues that while the introduction of the Personal Data Protection Policy, 2082 (2025), marks a positive step, its impact will depend on whether it can move beyond aspirational language to enforceable rights.
LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya Shares Insights on AI and Labour at ISLE Conference 2026
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming labour markets worldwide. In the Global South, however, these changes are unfolding unevenly, shaped by labour markets defined by high levels of informality, uneven social protection, and large skills gaps.
LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya at the Global South Policy Dialogue: Securing Labour Justice in the Age of AI
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to transform the world of work, its impacts in the Global South present urgent and unique challenges. Unlike advanced economies with formal labour markets and stronger safety nets, many countries in the Global South face high levels of informality, limited social protection, and unequal access to skills and digital infrastructure.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
9A 1/1, Balcombe Place
Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2026 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific