Govt Outlines Five Priorities for Bangladesh’s ICT Sector

The government has outlined five key priorities for Bangladesh’s ICT and telecommunications sectors, identifying them as designated thrust sectors for economic growth and digital transformation.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Post, Telecommunication, ICT, Science and Technology Rehan Asif Asad announced the priorities on Sunday at a policy dialogue on Bangladesh’s digital future.

The priorities are consistent and forward-looking policies under a five-year tax framework, improved mobile and broadband connectivity, development of Digital Public Infrastructure, creation of an AI-ready workforce and promotion of electronics manufacturing.

The adviser said the telecom sector currently faces an effective tax burden of 51-56 percent, compared with the global average of 22-27 percent. He stressed the need to remove the SIM tax.

He also highlighted the need to improve mobile and broadband connectivity, noting that although Bangladesh ranks seventh globally in terms of subscribers, it continues to lag significantly in service quality.

On Digital Public Infrastructure, Rehan proposed a “One Citizen, One ID, One Digital Wallet” system based on Estonia’s X-Road platform. He said the system would be provided free of cost, with each digital ID linked to bank accounts and the National Board of Revenue.

The adviser said Bangladesh needs to develop AI-ready talent by equipping its 23,000-30,000 annual engineering and science graduates with skills in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data. He also proposed introducing these subjects into school curricula.

He stressed the need to promote electronics manufacturing through incentives similar to those provided to the garment sector. Citing Vietnam’s experience, he noted that the country’s consumer electronics exports had increased from $1 billion to $217 billion in a decade.

He also cited a UN-ITU finding that every 10 percent increase in broadband penetration contributes 1 percent to national GDP.

The remarks came at a policy dialogue titled “Accelerating Bangladesh’s Digital Future: Policy Priorities for Innovation, Investment & ICT-Led Growth”, organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham).

In his opening remarks, AmCham President Syed Mohammad Kamal thanked the government for ratifying the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), saying the final legislation reflected most of the organisation’s recommendations.

He also welcomed measures in the Finance Act 2026, including tax exemptions for freelancers and content creators and customs relief on computers, digital devices and semiconductor-related materials.

Kamal called for greater clarity over the new digital permanent establishment provision linked to the 100,000-subscriber threshold. He also urged the government to reconsider the increase in ISPs’ turnover tax from 1 percent to 1.5 percent of gross receipts and ease international payments for technology companies and startups.

Participants also discussed digital infrastructure, AI and innovation, cybersecurity, electronic payments, cloud policy, data governance and the shortage of AI and data-engineering talent.

The adviser said RFID-based automated toll collection was currently under trial and Bangladesh Bank had agreed to open Bangla QR for inward international payments as a first step.

He said the “One Citizen, One ID” platform would be open to both domestic and international networks and that Startup Sandbox provisions would be fine-tuned in consultation with the wider startup community.

Rehan identified national cybersecurity as his immediate priority and announced that work on a national AI policy would begin in the fourth quarter through a joint team comprising representatives from the private sector, government, academia and the research community.

He also underscored the need to expand submarine cable capacity, saying the current six-terabyte capacity falls short of peak national demand of 12 terabytes, while traffic is doubling every two years.

He said new submarine cables take two to three years to build and are essential for Bangladesh’s digital sovereignty.