Finally the government has completed the process of auction and awarded 3G licences to all major operators in the country's telecommunication sector. This appears to be the first real step towards building a 'Digital Bangladesh'. We will certainly witness a significant shift in ensuring a far greater number of people's access to technology with the proliferation of connected mobile devices. With the growing affordability of mobile devices and now the roll-out of 3G technology, it is only natural that a 'connected life' enabled by machine-to-machine technologies is the next big frontier of growth and innovation for Bangladesh. And this wave of growth in mobile telephony will be a key determinant of our socio-economic advancement.
Connectivity is certainly the key. This is no surprise that the broadband connection distribution is critical for any country's growth. A study released by Deloitte in November 2012 on deployment of wireless broadband has revealed that the countries characterised by a higher level of data usage per 3G connection have seen an increase in their per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth of up to 1.4 percentage points. In developing countries, a 10 per cent expansion in mobile broadband's market penetration increases productivity by 4.2 percentage points. That's why the access to broadband is getting the high importance across the world and the lack of high-speed Internet or broadband is seen as an infrastructure bottleneck just like transportation, power etc.
The 3G will ensure availability of mobile broadband or high-speed internet. But will it be at a cheaper rate in Bangladesh? The current rate of access to Internet in our country is about 18 per cent, of which 98 per cent are connected through mobile phones at a speed of 256 kbps. But after the launch of 3G technology, this data speed can easily be at least 50 times the current speed of 14 mbps. That's why a few years after launch of the 3G network, data usage in many countries has grown 20 times.
In India, the mobile data usage tripled in 2012 after the 3G launch. According to a study, each 3G user in India currently uses nearly 434 MB per month on an average while a 2G user uses 115 MB per month. That is clearly a jump in data usage by 300 per cent. The data usage by 3G subscribers has tripled in one year. It clearly shows a rapid and steady increase in mobile data usage in India. That is what we may also experience in Bangladesh and that is what we want to have for a digital Bangladesh. We want the people to connect to the Internet, download good educational videos, capitalise on the social networking and get readily available information as and when needed.
The 3G technology in the areas of mobile advertisements, entertainment, commerce, mobile banking, mobile learning, health and different public sector services could potentially revolutionise the country. The 3G technology will be helping us move towards a better, more humane and efficient society.
Reducing power theft and increasing energy efficiency by introducing mobile-enabled smart meters could save enough electricity to electrify more than half a million homes. According to a recent study, Bangladesh's transmission and distribution losses stand at 16 per cent. Fortunately, technical losses only represent a third of the total power losses across the country. The remaining two-thirds of the losses, a majority of which is power theft, can be reduced without major changes in infrastructure. Mobile-enabled smart meters, a highly sophisticated tamper-proof device which alerts utility service providers almost instantaneously during any unauthorised access, can help reducing power theft. The government of India plans to deploy smart meters for all new connections by 2017 and our regulators should also draw up a roadmap to this end immediately after the launch of the 3G technology here.
One way to spread education in rural areas is through deployment of mobile education labs: vehicle fitted with mobile broadband connectivity, computer equipment and learning facilities. These mobile labs can provide education and information communication technology (ICT) training to children and adults to improve digital literacy. Mobile phone facilities offer a more cost-effective way to educate the rural people. The United Nations has noted the success of mobile schools in Mongolia, where 100 mobile 'tent schools' have already been introduced. We can do something similar in our country. We can introduce more programmes focusing on e-learning when the 3G technology will be there in the remotest corners of the country.
