Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Mustafa Jabbar Sunday said 5G network will be introduced in Bangladesh phase by phase and places when required rather than blanket activation of the fifth generation network.
Calling on the mobile operators to implement quality 4G services, he said, "5G will be introduced step by step and where we need it."
"Our basic responsibility is providing digital connectivity, which is why, we will introduce 5G," he said adding that quality service cannot be provided only through wave frequencies, it requires fiber optic connection.
He was speaking as the chief guest a discussion on the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Union Day-2022 at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.
The telecommunications minister said Bangladesh would get 13,200 gbps (gigabits per second) bandwidth if the country gets connected to the third submarine cable (S-MIM-UE-6).
Initiative has been taken to issue licenses for submarine cable in the private sector as well to improve connectivity in the country, he mentioned.
Mr Jabbar said that the Saudi Telecom is currently taking 600 gbps bandwidth from Bangladesh. It also expressed interest to get 1 terabyte more bandwidth, he informed.
He said the country would not face any bandwidth crisis in the current context. "Bangladesh will be added to the third submarine by 2025," he added.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Shyam Sundar Sikder, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications Md Khalilur Rahman, BTCL Managing Director Rafiqul Matin, among others, spoke at the discussion.
BTCL, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Com-pany Limited, Postal Department, mobile operators, mobile handset manufacturing companies, NTTN operators, Bangla-desh Computer Society, ISPAB, offices and agencies under the posts and telecommunications department, including ICX operators, and IIG operators, participated in the event.
