The addition of 10.85 million mobile phone users and 11.9 million internet subscribers between January and December in 2021 to the existing number carries, undoubtedly, elements of elation for the digitisation enthusiasts. Bangladesh still lacks the required digital prowess. The news will causes it to feel confident of its steady growth in the segment dealing with digital wizardry. As viewed by the Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the increase in the mobile and internet users is more than double compared to the past year. Referring to a BTRC data, the FE reports that with the additions, the country's mobile users stood at 181 million until December 2021 and internet subscribers at 123.82 million. The telecommunication authorities ascribe this spectacular rise in the use of digital mediums to the pandemic time's obligation of following health protocols like social distance.
However, the mobile-use bonanza has also its flipside. According to the global mobile use observer GSMA, a sudden growth in mobile use in the country is not everything. Its study says Bangladesh lags behind most of the South Asian nations when it comes to smart-phones. A report prepared by it and released last year shows 41 per cent of mobile phone users in Bangladesh own smart-phones. On the other hand, India has the highest number of smart-phone users -- 69 per cent, followed by Sri Lanka with 60 per cent, Nepal 53 per cent, and Pakistan 51 per cent.
Against this backdrop, the last year's higher sales and user-increase performance of Bangladesh may appear fleeting to the conservative circles. Lacking steadiness, the mobile and internet segments of the country's digital sector have yet to come of age in the real sense. Since the sector remains hostage to a cavalier style of operation and widespread amateurism, the optimistic outlook gleaned from a certain year cannot be called characteristic of a steady development. In spite of this drawback, the digitisation-savvy quarters look to a bright future for the Bangladesh mobile and internet sectors. To achieve this goal the policymakers as well as the local digitisation pioneers ought to chart out a well-thought-out course. To see it materialise, bringing people within the reach of internet connections, taking the internet facility to remote areas, unhindered electricity, availability of megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB) and other imperatives should be ensured.
The foremost of these must-dos is putting in all-out efforts to do away with digital divide. It is now indisputably accepted as a national disincentive affecting all strata of society, not only the disadvantaged people. The privileged cannot grow in a decent way, leaving the digitally underprivileged behind. The country's digitisation being in this clumsy state, the prospects for a real and meaningful development in the sector remain in doubt. To make things worse, the BTRC is all set to introduce smart-phones with 5G technology, which belongs to the state-of-the-art category. The truth is only 28 per cent of people in Bangladesh at present have these highly advanced connections. The mobile experts' doubt about the effectiveness of the 5G phones, cannot, thus, be downplayed. Feeling complacent after introducing the advanced technology and earning the users' annoyance cannot signal any substantial progress for the industry. The BTRC has already come up with unpalatable truths after conducting countrywide surveys. It concludes that mobile operators in large areas of the country are failing to provide the data speed required for the 4G mobiles.
