The first computer in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) was installed in 1964, a IBM Mainframe 1620. It was set up to help research the then, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (later Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission). For the next few decades, the country faced the liberation war, victory, the assasination of the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the several political turmoil that destabilized the notion from a technological growth that was intended. Personal Computers became a household name in the late 80s and the early 90s in the US and European countries. Computers provided some much needed workflow in the workplaces and offered some entertainment at homes.
The first private institutions to install computers were The Habib Bank and the United Bank. They had the IBM 1401 and IBM 1901 for all the balance check measures. The government also bought another computer, the IBM 360, which was installed in the Statistics Bureau.
In Bangladesh the widespread usages of computers began to rise from the 1990s. Personal computers were not as affordable as now. The user base, then, was limited. The first email service was introduced in 1993 with the offline UUCP based email services which lasted for three years. In June of 1996, the first VSAT based internet service was introduced by Information Services Network Limited (ISN), followed by Grameen Cyber Net in the next month. Since then various internet services were introduced mostly in Dhaka and Chittagong. Still the user base was limited. The personal computer usages kept growing year by year. From 2002-2008, the Cyber Cafe culture mushroomed in several cities as computers are becoming work machines, entertainment medium and education tools. The biggest change came to Bangladesh in 2005 with the introduction of the GPRS internet by mobile phone operators. It was in the same year Bangladesh first got its first submarine cable connection with South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) in 2005, then the Second in SEA-ME-WE 5 in 2017, with the speed of 1700 Gbps bandwidth consumption.
Bangladesh has come a long way since 2005. The global smartphone boom has also played a significant role in making the widespread reach of technology possible in Bangladesh. Computers skills are not one of the most vital skills that employers are looking for in a candidate. It is now quite impossible to think a day without the internet, at least in major cities and towns. With the rolling out of 3G in 2013, the internet usage of Bangladesh got a huge boost in numbers. Most smartphone users in Bangladesh have at least 4G connectivity on the go. From December of 2021, Teletalk is testing its 5G network.
All of these progress have been a fruition of a plan introduced in 2008, termed as "The Digital Bangladesh." The vision simply stated to provide a people friendly technology access to the country. The present government led by the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has installed the initiation to match with the technological challenges of the coming decades. With the honorable State Minister for ICT Division, Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Mr. Zuniad Ahmed Palak at the helm, the country has seen 18,000 government offices equipped with high speed internet and the 25,000 website collective of a government web portal.
The major changes that this plan has done to the life of common people is quite intriguing. The accessibility of information has been a blessing for people of the country with the help of social media and app culture, information can be shared, discussed as well businesses can be run smoothly from one part of the country to the other. The Covid 19 was a serious test for the country's ICT infrastructure. The lockdowns have had an impact on the lives of the people as education, offices and most outside activities were forced to rely on the 'new normal', the country has seen adopted the new norms well. The digitization has in some way or other worked in positive lights. Cultures have also been shifted due to the sudden change of the regular workflow. The country has seen a new breed of online based workforce that might be a much needed leapfrog towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Bangladesh is emerging as a freelance IT and IT-enabled services outsourcing (ITES) center as the ICT sector in Bangladesh is poised for simultaneous expansion with other economic opportunities. The internet usage rate in Bangladesh is growing rapidly in the country. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) states that the total internet subscribers at 117.3 million as of May 2021, of which only 9.8 million use broadband connections while the rest are mobile internet users. According to the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), over 1,500 software and IT-related companies have registered in Bangladesh and they are exporting their products to 35 countries of the world.
The ICT based industries are still in the earliest stages. This is a sector that is showing immense potentials. In the 2020-21 financial year, the IT based industries have 1.3 Billion USD of export earnings which is a 0.76 percent of the country's GDP. This industry is also responsible for 1 million jobs in the local market. With the goal of Digital Bangladesh, which is masterminded by The Honorable Prime Minister's Information and Communication Technology Affairs Adviser, and her son Mr. Sajeeb Wazed Joy has give importance to four basic order of business to the success of the Digital Bangladesh i.e. human resource development, connecting citizens, digital governance and the promotion of the ICT industry. As far as human resource development is concerned, Bangladesh has taken various initiatives to create a digital-ready workforce.
There are still worries to look forward to after all these positive signs. As the fourth industrial revolution is silently taking place, then what are the chances that we have in future to survive in the new world?
Our economy has a heavy dependence on a single sector. The ready-made garments (RMG) alone earns over 80 percent of total annual exports, according to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). The other source of earning for Bangladesh is remittance from low-skilled migrant workers, who sent around USD 24.78 billion in 2020-21 FY.
The fear however is an existential one. As the world progresses with modern robotics and other alternatives will there be any need for these low-cost labors? Can Bangladesh be able to train these abundance of population in making a futuristic production system in the wake of a change? As Bangladesh has no track of graduating into a Developing country, can we be able to solve the middle income trap that most developing countries have stuck on?
Some of these questions might look far-fetched now as the country is in the constant developing rush. The realities are coming right ahead of the low cost of labor as a future currency and the country with lower labor will become the factory of the world like China did. It would be a dire necessity to find the answer to the aforementioned questions and solve the problems of the future. As Bangladeshies, the most positive thing about us is that we never lose hope at any point. There is always a solution that we usually come up with. But, ideally it is the implementation of our huge workforce that has made all the positive and possible that we are enjoying right now and perhaps will be in the future. Meanwhile the government has an important role to play as every change comes with its inherent dangers and they must be mitigated by ensuring liberal and scientific education that can enable people to embrace the future with new hope and possibilities.
The writer is a Senior Lecturer, Department of English Language and Literature,
Central Women's University
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