Bangladesh is one of the top four countries in terms of 'improvement and remarkable growth' in digital economy in the last four years, according to Huawei Global Connectivity Index (GCI) 2019.
The index was prepared through evaluating the progress in the digital economy of the world where Ukraine, South Africa and Algeria are accompanying Bangladesh, said a Huawei press release on Wednesday.
The GCI report study was published by Huawei on digital development based on how ICT innovation and ICT applications can grow national economies, and conducts open research into the digital economy with top universities, think tanks, and industry associations.
The goal of GCI is to provide the countries and industries with authoritative, objective, quantified assessments and recommendations on digital transformation.
From 2014, Huawei is releasing a GCI report based on 40 indicators under four pillars named Supply, demand, experience and potential every year since.
GCI 2019 report said as a starter nation, less than 5 years “Bangladesh boosted its GCI score by seven points”.
Since 2015, mobile subscription penetration jumped from 5 per cent to 41 per cent and smart phone penetration from 7 per cent to 34 per cent in Bangladesh.
In addition to mobile subscription, the country’s fibre to home (FTTH) coverage and fixed broadband base also made significant progress.
Intelligent Connectivity is another potential Catalyst for fresh GDP Growth for all the countries including Bangladesh, the report said.
Now in its sixth year, GCI 2019 highlights AI’s role as one of four key enablers that drive “Intelligent Connectivity” alongside broadband, cloud, and IoT. All four have the potential to be significant catalysts for economic growth.
“We’re now seeing that the fusion of 5G, AI, and cloud has redefined connectivity,” said Kevin Zhang, the CMO of Huawei ICT Infrastructure.
“Intelligent connectivity is speeding up the development of the digital economy, so governments and industry leaders in starter and adopter nations should embrace new technologies, prioritise work on national-level digital transformation plans, and benefit from global collaboration,” he added.
The GCI is designed to provide actionable insights for how policy makers and economic stakeholders can foster greater success in the digital economy. The 79 countries assessed by GCI 2019 account for 95 per cent of global GDP and 84 per cent of the world’s population.
