INTERNET%20AND%20DATA%20COMMUNICATION%20INFRASTRUCTURE%20IN%20BANGLADESH%20-%20Special%20Emphasis%20for%20Education%20and%20Research

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INTERNET AND DATA COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE
IN BANGLADESH- Special Emphasis for Education
and Research

• S. M. Lutful Kabir
• Professor and Director
• Institute of Information and Communication
  Technology
• Bangladesh University of Engineering and
  Technology

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History of Internet in Bangladesh

• First, UUCP email in 1993
• IP Connectivity in 1996
• Present user 3,00,000 representing 0.24
  penetration

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Research and Education

• Education in Computer first started at BUET in
  1984
• 83,796 primary level institutions
• 5694 Junior institutions
• 15748 secondary institutions
• 2339 higher secondary and degree colleges
• 30 numbers of Universities

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IT Development

• Governments Emphasis to establish
• high capacity fiber optic telecommunication
  backbone
• Local Information and Infrastructure (LII)
• National Information and Infrastructure (NII)
• Global Information and Infrastructure (GII)
• Exemption tax from Computer items
• Distribution of computers to schools
• Computerization of government offices

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Village Computer and Internet

• Familiarizing village people
• Providing computer training at a minimul price
• Providing email facility
• Easier access to relevant market information
• Enabling student contact for higher education
• Creating IT related Job opportunity

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IP Telephony

• Much cheaper than conventional telephone system
• At present, illegal
• Government considering the formal permission for
  IP telephone

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e-Commerce

• is not progressing because
• poor network infrastructure
• lack of human resources
• absence of related rules
• Government has formed a committee to
• Standardization
• Interoperability

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e-Banking

• Most of the bank use the computerized system
• But they do not yet offer online or e-service
• Standard Chartered Bank first launched Internet
  banking
• A seven bank consortium offers now e-banking

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IT Policy

• A national IT policy has been drafted and under
  consideration in the parliament
• In the draft, the computer education has been
  given top priority

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IT (Electronic Transaction) Acts

• In May 2002, Government announced plan to
  legislate e-commerce
• Legislation of digital signature and electronic
  document is underway
• The Bangladesh Law commission has drafted IT act
• circulated among stakeholders
• designed to cover cyber crimes

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Nationwide Internet and Data Network

• A variety of data network are slowly emerging
• Digital Switches capable of services such as ISDN
  have been installed nationwide
• Various organizations have, or are in the process
  of installing LAN
• Internet backbone required for data
  communication, software development, data entry
  require to be upgraded

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Transmission System

• mainly composed of microwave, UHF and VHF radio
  links
• major links are star formation network structure
• use of optical fiber is presently limited within
  some city areas connecting local exchange and
  remote RSU
• all thana headquarters (smallest administrative
  units) are connected with their respective
  districts through radio links

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Transmission System (continued)

• majority of the network is operated by
  Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB)
• amongst the private operators, BRTA have
  established a microwave link between Dhaka and
  Sylhet
• Grameen are upgrading fiber optic cable network
  of bangladesh railway
• established a 140 Mbit/s microwave link between
  Khulna and Chittagong via Barisal

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International Communication Facility

• Standard A Satellite Earth Station in 1975 at
  Betbunia to work with INTELSAT system
• Second Satellite Earth Station at Talibabad
• International Subscriber Dialling (ISD) facility
  in December 1983
• Satellite earth station along with an
  International Trunk Exchange (ITX) was
  commissioned in Mohakhali, Dhaka in 1994.
• Direct Satellite Link between Sylhet and London
  in June, 1995

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International Switching Center

• Three International Switching Center (ISC)
• One at Mohakhali
• Two at Mogbazar

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International Maritime Satellite

• INMARSAT provides mobile communication services
  for ships and aircrafts.
• BTTB has five INMARSAT A terminals operating
  through (land Earth Station) LES located at Jeddah

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International VSAT Services

• Communication established through geostationary
  satellite (in this region ASIASAT).
• Five-year BOT agreement with Pak DataCom
• Allowed for corporate data communication and
  cannnot be terminated to any public switched
  telephone network (PSTN)

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Digital Data Network (DDN)

• In Dhaka and three other major cities
• Plans to extend for all of the 64 districts
• An X.25 Packet Switched Data Network (PSDN) in
  Dhaka and five other cities in 1994
• Inter-city connectivity through microwave link
• The cable TV network is being considered as a
  future option of data transfer

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InfoBahn Project

• establish a national IP gateway
• interconnect the local Internet Service Providers
  (ISPs)
• connect ISPs to the PSTN through E1 trunks
• introduce packet switch along with the existing
  circuit switched PSTN
• offer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

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Internet Service Providers

• In 1996, first provider is ISN
• Connection charge is as low as 50 paisa (1.2 JPY)
  per minute
• About 80 is email service
• Registered with ISP 1,00,000 users
• Total Internet users is 3,20,000
• Mainly Dhaka Based
• Few ISPs are at Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi and
  Khulna

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Constraints on Internet Growth

• Underdeveloped IT industry
• Limited trained human resources
• Poor telecommunication infrastructure
• Low level of computer literacy
• Widespread poverty
• Limited point of presence of ISPs
• Lack of software and content in Bangla

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Human Resources

• Government fixes top priority in developing human
  resources
• At present country produces around 2000 graduates
  in IT related fields
• Renowned public Institutes are BUET, DU, JU,
  SUST, RU etc
• Private University NSU, AUST, EWU, AMA, UAP, etc

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Measures for HRD

• Adequate Internet facility
• High Speed campus backbone
• Qualified faculty appointment
• Strengthen PG programme
• Enhance laboratory facilities
• On line books/Journal facility
• Internship in industry
• More funds for good institutes

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Connectivity in Educational Institutes

• Use of computers is not encouraging
• Most of the universities do not have their own
  VSAT
• BUET has its own, speed 512 kbps/128 kbps
• Most of the institutions are not networked
  internally
• Bangladesh Education and Research Network
  (BERNET) provides connectivity for nine
  universities

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BERNET

• The central node of BUGC is connected to a local
  ISP
• Two universities are connected to BUGC through
  radio modem
• Nine other universities are connected through
  dial-up telephone link
• e-mail, www, ftp, remote log-in, database
  services are provided
• The maintenance is poor

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Recommendation

• IT training should substantially be encouraged
  through formal and non-formal means.
• VoIP and private international gateway for data
  and voice should allowed
• The fiber optic cable laid along railway tract
  should be further utilized
• The internet connectivity should be increased

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Conclusion

• The present government has recognized IT as
  thrust sector
• A large number of bright students and
  entrepreneurs have shown interest in IT
• Strong data network within the country and
  between the country and outside world are
  necessary
• Not only equipment but also training is necessary
  for maintaining the system

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Thank You