Minimum broadband speed to be reset five times higher

The government plans to upgrade the minimum broadband speed to 5Mbps from the existing 1Mbps set in 2013.
“It's a government decision and we think it will help the industry flourish. Users will greatly benefit from this,” said Md Faizur Rahman Chowdhury, telecom secretary, adding that a notice will be issued on Sunday.
The move comes after Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the prime minister's ICT adviser, directed Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission in July last year to upgrade the internet speed and amend its definition.
Subsequently, the Domestic Network Coordination Committee, headed by the principal secretary of the Prime Minister's Office, decided to reset broadband speed at 5Mbps in October last year.
However, Mustafa Jabbar, a former president of the Bangladesh Computer Samity, said the initiative will be meaningless if the government or the regulator cannot deliver the higher speed to users.
In Singapore where the minimum broadband speed is 2Mbps and users also get the same speed, he said.
“So, it is more important to ensure the speed at the users' level than the redefinition,” said Jabbar, also a member of the broadband policy formulating body.
MA Hakim, president of the Internet Service Provider Association of Bangladesh, said the redefinition can create problems if the related regulations are not amended.
In 2008, BTRC fixed the minimum speed for broadband at 128Kbps.
After forming the broadband policy in 2009, the government upgraded the minimum broadband speed first to 256Kbps and then to 512Kbps.
The government then upgraded the minimum broadband speed to 512Mbps.