Desk Report,
I swear, our government will not shut down the internet in the country in the future: Faiz Ahmed Tayyab
The ousted Awami League government shut down the internet across the country on this day during the July uprising. On the anniversary of the anniversary, Faiz Ahmed Tayyab, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor on Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, said, “On this day, we take an oath that our government or any future government will not shut down the internet in Bangladesh.”
I swear, our government will not shut down the internet in the country in the future: Faiz Ahmed Tayyab
He made this pledge at a press conference on the visit of a high-level delegation of Starlink, a subsidiary of US technology company SpaceX, at a hotel in Shahbagh in the capital on Friday. The press conference was organized by the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology.
At the press conference, Faiz Ahmed said that Starlink’s soft launch (small-scale journey) was held earlier on May 20. This time, the official journey of the Starlink service began with the arrival of high-level representatives of SpaceX. He said, the business leaders (SpaceX delegation) have come to give a message to the young generation of Bangladesh that Bangladesh will never be isolated again.
In response to a question, this special assistant to the chief advisor said, the policy decision of this government will never be to shut down the internet. The Telecommunications Act will be amended so that no government can do that in the future. The government is working towards that goal. It is a complex law, so it takes time. It would be better if it could be completed within a year. The government is taking time to amend the law to a level where the internet can never be shut down again.
Faiz Ahmed Tayyab said, the branding of ease of doing business in Bangladesh will be improved by the arrival of Starlink. It will be convenient to bring a company like PayPal to Bangladesh.
Regarding the number of Starlink subscribers, Faiz Ahmed said, only Starlink can say this. However, it will be known through BTRC in the future. Due to some legal complications, most of the subscribers have not yet been provided with services. There are some issues related to customs and VAT, work is underway to resolve them. He also said that there are no security concerns regarding the Starlink technologies that will enter the country.
