Bangladesh has become the institutional member of Unicode Consortium, an organisation that enables people around the world to use computers in any language.

On being a member, Bangladesh has achieved the voting power to make necessary additions of Bangla letters to be used in various devices of science, information and communication technology (ICT) and to develop the language standard.

Unicode is an internationally recognised system by which any language can be used in different digital devices like mobile phone and computer.

Earlier, only India had the voting right in the consortium about the Bangla language.

The ICT ministry with the personal interest of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken the initiative of being a member of the consortium last year.

Bangladesh was declared an institutional member on June 30 this year following an application by the ministry on March 18, 2009.

The Unicode Bangla text has already been initiated in many government offices under the supervision of `Accesses to Information (A2I)’ programme, operated by the Prime Minister’s office.

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Bangladesh’s Chief Information Officer (CIC) wants that the Right to Information Act be amended to cover corporate offices and MNCs operating in the country to effectively combat corruption.

According to CIC Muhammad Zamir, bringing them under the RTI’s purview was essential to ensure transparency and accountability of business organisations.

‘Necessary measures need to be taken to bring the multinational corporations and corporate offices within the purview of the Right to Information Act. This will expand the accountability and the transparency of these organisations,’ Zamir said in an interview with Media.

Besides government offices and NGOs, all other institutions should also be made accountable to the public since they have their stake there, he said.

RTI is a new concept in Bangladesh that is ranked among the lowest in the corruption chart by the Transparency International, a global body that monitors the level and extent of corruption in a country.

The CIC said the government offices/departments now realise that they are legally bound to provide answer to questions from the public and they have to do this within a prescribed legal time frame.

‘Otherwise, under this act, necessary measures can be taken against the recalcitrant party,’ Zamir said.

‘We are creating a paradigm which will help in curbing corruption and ensure citizens’ right information.’

He said corruption emanates from misgovernance or withholding of fundamental rights of the citizens.

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The report, which took into account 11 indicators to measure the level and evolution of ICT developments, found that Bangladesh had been ranked 137th in the list of 159 countries around the world in the year 2008, despite meagre improvement in its index score from the previous annum.
Bangladesh is ahead of only two other countries from the Asia Pacific region according to the latest ranking, namely, Nepal and Papua New Guinea that are placed at 142nd and 151st respectively in the list.
Sweden has topped the list of the 159 countries surveyed by ITU as part of the study, while eight of the top 10 countries in the index are from Northern Europe.

“The report confirms that despite the recent economic downturn, the use of ICT services has continued to grow worldwide- driven by the growth in mobile phone usage,” ITU said in its ‘Measuring the Information Society 2010′ report.

The Geneva-based United Nations Agency for Information and Communication Technology has been publishing the report regularly for the last few years to evaluate internationally comparable data and statistics on ICT.

The report has also found that Bangladesh is at the bottom of all South Asian economies in terms of its ‘ICT Price Basket’ index which has put it at 137th place while measuring the affordability of fixed and mobile telephony and fixed broadband Internet services.

The Price Basket- which figures out comparable data on affordability of ICT services- thus pinpointed that despite having one of the lowest voice tariff rates, the cost of ICT services remained considerably higher in Bangladesh in comparison to the average income level of the mass.

Insiders, however, have blamed the trend on heavy SIM tax for mobile phone which they say is ultimately increasing the burden on general subscribers.

“Although the mobile companies are trying their best through offering subsidies on new connections, it is still beyond the means of rural people and lower income group”, said an insider.

“Many developing countries have no or much less SIM tax on mobile connections. Bangladesh should take the same route”, he added.

A closer look at the index also reveals that Bangladesh’s lower ranking in terms of price and affordability was not helped either by the country’s high broadband prices.

This is evident from Bangladesh’s score in the sub basket for mobile and fixed phone in the index which is quite comparable to its neighbouring economies. The country has gone significantly down because of its much lower scoring in fixed broadband category.

Industry leaders have long been calling for reducing the Internet bandwidth price from Tk 18,000 to Tk 7,000 which they say can make broadband accessible at Tk 300.00 for common people.

The scenario, however, is by and large common for all Third World economies, as the ITU pointed in the report that fixed broadband access remained out of the reach for many people in the developing countries.

According to the survey, fixed broadband services showed the largest price fall of 42 per cent in one year around the globe, compared to 25 and 20 per cent in mobile cellular and fixed telephone services respectively.

The report predicts that the global number of mobile cellular subscriptions would top five billion in 2010-and despite lower penetration rate of broadband and cellular in developing nations, demand is still strongest in the Third World regions.

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A parliamentary body yesterday assured cellphone operators and telecommunications and ICT-based entrepreneurs of taking necessary steps to remove growing anxiety over proposed amendments to the telecom laws.

On their concern and objections to the proposed amendments, the parliamentary standing committee on post and telecommunications ministry said it would carefully examine those and bring amendments to the bill, if necessary.

Representatives of the telecom operators also opposed the proposed amendments that provide the government with sweeping authority by curtailing jurisdiction of Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

The telecom industry is among the largest contributors to growth, accounting for approximately 6 percent of GDP. Under Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission regulations, the industry shares 5.5 percent of revenue collected in the form of rent and call charges as well as pays for the lease of Bangladesh Railways’ fibre optic network. Not to talk about the large money the government realises in the form of SIM tax. During the caretaker government’s time, owners were forced to pay additional fees for transfer of ownership too. Altogether it is around 10 percent of the government’s revenue collection.

As mentioned earlier, on June 13, 2010, the Bangladesh Telecommunication (amendment) Bill 2010 was placed before parliament for review by the parliamentary standing committee on posts and telecommunication ministry. The Mobile Operators Association (AMTOB) highlighted a few key provisions in the new regulatory framework that are detrimental to the future growth of the industry and against the spirit of free markets.
The new law proposes raising the maximum fine for offenses from Tk 10 lakh to an astounding Tk 300 crore, higher than any comparable fines in the region; Pakistan currently has the highest with a maximum fine of PKR 35 crore (approximately BDT 28 crore). Given the industry’s high rate of taxation, mandatory revenue sharing and strict regulatory framework, this incentive adds an incremental contingent cost on industry players, discouraging further domestic and foreign investment. While our government is trying hard to market overseas investment, this will obviously send a wrong message to the rank and file. Especially when nobody less than our prime minister is continuously focusing on policy continuity, despite political changeover.
Against the spirit of due process, the new law provides no scope for appeal against expanded powers given to regulators. Telecom-related offenses are now made cognizable under the law, allowing the arrest of industry professionals without warrants, against all tenets of the Criminal Procedure Code. I thought we live in a respectable democratic country, known for its hospitality to the foreign guests. The other day, a minister was speaking high about the country’s potential as a ‘business process outsourcing’ (BPO) hub, with growing and reasonably priced IT savvy and English literate young men and women.
The new law also gives the regulator unilateral power to amend licence conditions at any time. The current cost of renewing a licence represents a significant investment in a capital intensive and highly competitive industry. The potential for abrupt and/or unfavorable changes in licence conditions in light of the high cost of renewal is a significant barrier towards future growth and casts a pall over the business and investment climates in Bangladesh.
The telecom industry is among the largest contributors to growth, accounting for approximately 6 percent of GDP. Under Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission regulations, the industry shares 5.5 percent of revenue collected in the form of rent and call charges as well as pays for the lease of Bangladesh Railways’ fibre optic network. Not to talk about the large money the government realises in the form of SIM tax. During the caretaker government’s time, owners were forced to pay additional fees for transfer of ownership too. Altogether it is around 10 percent of the government’s revenue collection.
Mobile phone operators have been very serious in implementing measures and technologies in the spirit of Digital Bangladesh. Among other things, the industry has brought mobile connectivity to over 90 percent of Bangladesh, introduced data and Internet services to mobile users, provided valuable services such as the facilitation of inward remittance from Bangladeshis living abroad, and generally introduced among the lowest cost mobile phone services in the world.
The industry has promoted significant foreign investment in Bangladesh, sparked growth in Bangladesh capital markets and brought the gift of communication to far-flung corners of rural Bangladesh. The industry is the epitome of a healthy, competitive market and fostering growth for the sector and will continue to provide benefits for the people of Bangladesh.
The people of this country voted this regime, because we wanted change, change for better, biased towards a forward-looking Bangladesh, more technology-driven solutions. No going back, look forward with confidence. If one looks at the telecom bill put up in the parliament, s/he will obviously doubt the sincerity of purpose of the change. I know many ministers, many parliament members who truly believe Bangladesh has a future, based on better education, access to information and shared vision. And that can only happen with better connectivity, using technology for poverty alleviation, investing more in agricultural and tropical health research. Professor Jeffrey Sachs (the author of ‘End of Poverty’) mentioned in 1999 ‘the future of Bangladesh depends on – how fast it can reach technology to rural masses, how better they can use technology for poverty alleviation’. Let’s not kill the golden goose, let’s not send a wrong message to the rest of the world. I am convinced senses will prevail among our people’s representatives, they are the listening people, they represent the toiling masses, and they in togetherness can give us a better Bangladesh. They are the change ambassadors.? can they kill change!

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The head of a United Nations agency created to promote industrial development said that Bangladesh has the potential to become a hub for scientific and technological measurement in South Asia, assisting in the countrys poverty reduction strategy and moving it closer to reaching the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Bangladesh is growing rapidly, and global metrology and calibration standards could drive this process, said Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), at the inauguration of the National Metrology Laboratory of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution in Dhaka, the capital.

Metrology refers to the study of scientific and technological measurement, where precision is vital to ensure that equipment and materials function effectively.

Mr. Yumkella added that the laboratory has been a vital part of UNIDOs effort to contribute to growth and poverty reduction in Bangladesh through developing, strengthening and diversifying the countrys production and export base.

As part of his three-day visit to Bangladesh, Mr. Yumkella also met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other senior Government officials, including Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and the Minister for Industries Dilip Barua.

Back Ground :
The United Nations agency tasked with promoting industrial development and its intellectual properties counterpart today pledged closer cooperation to help developing countries build industrial capacity and gain a foothold in the global economy through innovative trade measures.
The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said they will strengthen links on supporting technology innovation, strategic use of patent information for development, trade capacity-building and trade-related intellectual property rights issues.

An agreement on the strengthened partnership was approved in Vienna by the UNIDO Industrial Development Board at its 37th session. It will be signed by UNIDO Director-General Kandeh Yumkella and his WIPO counterpart Francis Gurry.

Creating awareness and practical capacity-building on intellectual property protection and use should be an integral part of any industrial development strategy, said Mr. Yumkella. [The] UNIDO-WIPO cooperation will help developing countries face the challenges of a globalized economy, he added.

Mr. Gurry said that the intellectual property system played a key role in facilitating technology transfer by incentivizing investment in innovation, providing a framework for trading intellectual assets, and by establishing market order through marks and brands.

He noted that the innovation landscape was the subject of rapid and radical change, pointing to the intensification of investment in knowledge creation, whose value had more than doubled in the past 15 years, rising to some $1.1 trillion in 2009.

In January, UNIDO and WIPO launched a trade capacity development programme in Pakistan, funded by the European Commission. UNIDO is developing the supply capacity in fisheries and horticulture, and supporting the development of compliance infrastructure and services. WIPO in turn is developing the intellectual property regime and institutional set-up. Joint activities for the fisheries and horticulture sectors are expected to add value to export products through the recognition and promotion of specific local product attributes or branding.

UN agencies strengthen ties to support industry and trade in poorer countries

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‘Digital Bangladesh’ by 2013.A highly placed source in the Ministry of Telecommunications told media that the Bangladesh government is actively considering unblocking the popular social networking site Facebook latest by Monday [June 6, 2010]. The site was earlier blocked by Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission [BTRC] for containing cartoon of the Prophet of Islam.

On condition of anonymity, the source said, Facebook authorities have already closed several Fan pages containing ‘objectionable’ contents. Meanwhile, there is tremendous pressure on the government from country’s Information Technology [IT] sector, which considers such blocking as a major obstacle in advancement of the country towards its goal of further expansion of computer based network in Bangladesh. Current ruling party in its electoral mandate promised ‘Digital Bangladesh’ by 2013.

It may be mentioned here that, the same government earlier blocked YouTube, which was later unblocked in three days, while the blocking of Facebook is continuing for almost one week.

Justifying such actions of the government, the official said, in future also, Bangladeshi authorities will block any such social networking site or even news site, if they will contain any item, which either would be considered blasphemous or ‘threat’ to the national security of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh government is actively considering blocking a number of sites soon. These sites include website of Hizbut Tahrir, website of Hizbut Towhid, blog and Facebook page of Islamic Democratic Party [former HuJI], all porno sites etc. Bangladesh authorities will also block websites of all militancy organizations in India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Government is also considering taking actions against illegal news sites operated from Bangladesh

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Bangladesh banned facebook !Over the last few weeks and months, there has been a lot of commentary in the media on Facebook and online privacy. Much of the criticism that has been directed at Facebook has focused on either the absence of or poor usability with privacy settings ? issues that Facebook made moves to try to address with the release of updated privacy controls last week.

But fortunately and unfortunately for the company, this won??t be the last time that privacy issues cause it to make urgent product adjustments. These days, Facebook users often don??t publish the kind of information they share on it anywhere else on the web, putting the company in a unique and central position the future of online privacy. As a result, it is now responsible for setting and managing the expectations of 1) 500 million users who trust it with their data, 2) millions of businesses who trust it with their money and marketing plans, and 3) hundreds of national governments who have the power to regulate it whenever enough of either users or businesses get upset.

Facebook??s challenge is to continually adapt its privacy products to meet the varied and evolving needs of each of these diverse groups. When expectations and products get out of whack ? even if the problems are unspecific and/or exaggerated unfairly by media ? the company could quickly find itself in situations like it did a month ago with Senators teeing up the Facebook football on the steps of the Capitol. (And just this week, it also received an inquiry from the House Judicial Committee.)

Privacy and Politics
Facebook has shown it can survive the regular bans it gets from smaller countries (for example, Facebook was banned in both Bangladesh and Pakistan recently for facilitating for free speech/obscenity reasons ? not privacy), but those countries only represent a small portion of Facebook??s user base. And in cases like these, those governments have usually reversed the ban relatively soon when internal political pressure subsided (although in the Pakistan case, Facebook deleted an offensive group to help get access restored more quickly). But the stakes are much higher when talking about US government regulation.

Thus, Facebook is ramping up its Congressional staffer briefing efforts to try to educate and manage Washington better, especially in this election year. Unlike Google, Facebook doesn??t have many alumni high up in the Obama administration, so it??s going to have to start the Beltway dance quickly to make sure it isn??t underheard.

One of the key challenges Facebook will face in the months and years ahead ? besides trying to keep privacy watchdog groups under control ? is getting Congress to think with broader context when it comes to online privacy, instead of targeting it, specifically. Because of its success, Facebook is now a poster child for how new technology is affecting our notions of online privacy today ? much like the leading e-commerce companies who were the first to handle big volumes of online credit card transactions in the ??wild west?? days of the consumer Internet. As informed observers like Tim O??Reilly recently noted,

When I wrote last week about Facebook privacy flap, I was speaking out of the frustration that many technologists with a sense of perspective feel when we see uninformed media hysteria about the impact of new technology. (How many of you remember all the scare stories about the risks of using a credit card online from back in the mid-1990s, all of them ignoring the risks that consumers blithely took for granted in the offline world?)??

There are real privacy issues to be faced in the data collected by web companies. But they are part of a far bigger picture of how the world is changing. We need thoughtful understanding of what the real risks are, not finger pointing by the media (and even more frighteningly, by members of Congress) at companies that are easy targets because they make good political theater.
Mark Zuckerberg has been telling us for years that his vision for Facebook is to create a public/private hybrid model for sharing information ? meaning Facebook will encourage users to make some information private, and some information public. As Facebook continues to tweak and change its products over the coming months and years, it will have to continually tweak its privacy controls as well to sufficiently match the expectations of consumers, businesses, and governments. It won??t always be exactly right, but it is in Facebook??s interests to continually protect and cultivate its greatest asset ? the trust that people put in the company by virtue of how they use Facebook to develop their online identity and build their part of social graph.

Privacy and Revenue
When it comes to the intersection of privacy issues and Facebook??s revenues, one important point to note is that Facebook is trying hard to reiterate that its in-house advertising model is not dependent upon its privacy model. In other words, people see the same Facebook Ads, no matter what their privacy settings are. In general, this is the simplest way that Facebook has avoided bigger problems with regulators. By handling the serving and optimization itself for most ads shown on Facebook.com, Facebook is working on building a large business that doesn??t require it to share personally identifiable information with advertisers.

The broader strategy question connecting privacy and revenue for Facebook, however, is that of the Facebook Platform. Here, there are actually two competing dynamics at play:

1) By allowing third parties to get access to some user information when users authorize applications, Facebook is enabling these third parties to in effect compete with it by creating their own advertising products that key off of user data obtained through the Facebook Platform. For example, if a user authorizes an application to access their list of music interests, that application might be able to provide a compelling ads or offers for concert tickets or other music-related items. If that application has access to advertising inventory that Facebook doesn??t, then it could, in a sense, capitalize on Facebook by plugging into its API.

We??ve seen this at play over the years as a variety of companies have created third party ad networks on the Facebook Platform to varying degrees of success. While there were aggressive players in this area during the first couple years after the Platform launched, Facebook has tightened the rules on third party data access here over time. In general, most of these companies have complained that Facebook hasn??t given them sufficient access to user data to create a larger opportunity, especially compared to Facebook??s own ad business, and we??ve seen some consolidation in this market over the last 18 months. (Most of the new advertising efforts are now focused on virtual currency ? see our previous coverage for more details on issues in that area.)

2) But the broader strategic goal of the Platform of course is to make Facebook??s social graph the underlying infrastructure for all parts of the Internet that depend on social context. For example, if Facebook can get many media sites to personalize content based on your Facebook identity and friends list, or many e-commerce sites to personalize their stores based on your Facebook identity and friends list, it would then play an important role in many internet services, apart from ads. If Facebook succeeds here, more of the Internet will depend on it for increasingly valuable parts of its functionality, increasing Facebook??s leverage as a growing part of the value chain.

Several years out, Facebook??s revenues will be increasingly affected by its off-Facebook.com activities. Here, the privacy questions get more complicated. Will Facebook be able to provide value to advertisers without sharing user data with publishers in a way that publishers will be willing to accept ? or will Facebook need to create new rules for sharing user data with publishers on its network? For example, would a travel website which depends on Facebook for social context allow Facebook to completely handle all the advertising on its site as well, or would it want greater control over its user and monetization data? If Facebook didn??t share any data with the publisher to follow the same type of third party privacy standards it does on Facebook.com today, the value proposition to the publisher would be less attractive. But if Facebook were able to create a service that worked well anyway, it would be able to grow its advertising business substantially on the back of the Platform. However, this is a much longer term question.

Conclusion
If Facebook is able to navigate these near- and intermediate-term waters successfully, it will be in a very strong and unique position for many years to come. After all, for many of Facebook??s 500 million users, Facebook is the exclusive platform on which they are publishing and sharing any personal information online that??s tied to their authentic identity, enabling Facebook to continue to build a strong advertising business.

Fundamentally, a lot of people both like and trust Facebook, as shown by how they use and share information on it. But there are certainly going to be a lot of potholes ahead. Like the issues Facebook has faced in recent weeks, many of these won??t actually have any immediately measurable impact on user behavior ? but will be symptomatic of the work Facebook has to do with government, advertisers, and the media

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Digitalised Bangladesh is now a days is common dream of Bangladeshi. No political question!

If we simplify what is digital Bangladesh ? I answer : A well managed Bangladesh.
To manage well ,we always need to clear about our resources .From my best knowledge i demand a High Powerful Bangladesh Resources Research Centre (BRRC)
To explore the opportunity of the ultimate resources of Bangladesh which grow the potential Bangladesh as a Sucessful contry Bangladesh must should develop a high oppotunity powered Research centre for exploring the resources of Bangladesh , natural resources or human resources or opportunity resources . The Research centre can be co up with the Ministry of planning .

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This is the time for globalization , In fact the world leader are now a days getting the power of digitalisation and the power of IT , Our daily life to political life is growing full dependancy on Technology. world politics loosing the geographical boarder through communication,through interaction,through sharing knowledge and information. Now here in global village …survival is the fittest .Here world is becoming as a village, with the power of speedey communication technology. IT creates revolution of change .In bussiness,in knowledge,in lifestyle ,in product ,in all.

Understanding the key reality of Global village and to reach the global citizen benifit Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared Bangladesh to Digital Bangladesh.

With hope of digital Bangladesh -a big number Bangladeshi get a platfrom to react with Facebook .Also enjoying the communication heal of digitalization.but Goverment banned facebook.Facebook an interference with freedom of expression.
This time, Bangladesh’s government has banned extremely popular social networking site Facebook for indefinite period. There are two versions from official sources, justifying this ban.

One claims, it was blocked as someone posted obscene cartoon of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and leader of the opposition Begum Khaleda Zia. Another source claims that, the site is blocked because of high pressure from the Islamist groups in Bangladesh, which asked the government to immediately and indefinitely ban Facebook for publishing cartoons of the Prophet of Islam. Three Islamist political parties ? Islami Oikya Jote [IOJ], Islami Andolan and Khelafat Andolan ? on Friday [May 28, 2010] demanded an immediate ban on Facebook for a recent campaign by some users inviting people to draw images of the prophet. Earlier Pakistani government also banned Facebook at the demand of Islamist and militant religious extremist groups in that country.

Commenting on blocking Facebook, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission sources said: “Some users of Facebook posted anti-Islamic content about Prophet Mohammed [SM], which the government took seriously. Some users even have posted sub-links to pornographic materials, which are not tolerable as well. For these reasons, Facebook has been blocked indefinitely. Access to Facebook may resume only when operators will find proper ways of blocking such anti-social and anti-religious contents.”

Giving reactions to blocking of Facebook, a number of Islamist groups in Bangladesh has welcomed the steps and demanding continuation of this ban for indefinite period. While Islamist groups are raising voice against Facebook, on investigation it was found that even some of the notorious Islamist groups as well as suspected Islamist terror outfits are also maintaining their pages on Facebook. Islamic Democratic Party [former Harkat-Ul-Jihad] is having its page on Facebook.

I am not sure, if the government will gain anything by blocking Facebook, but surely it will bring bad reputation for the country as a whole for such violation of rights of expression. Freedom of expression and freedom of press is greatly undermined in Bangladesh during past few months. The latest attempt of the government in banning Facebook will just become another evidence of such situation. Those who advocated such idea, are in reality screwing the image of the present government in Bangladesh.

News Before :

Facebook has been blocked in Bangladesh for a brief period, a senior BTRC official told media Saturday evening after hundreds of users reported the social networking site was down.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that elite crime busters RAB requested temporary closure of the site in the country.

“Yes, it’s been blocked for a while,” the official told media at 8:50pm.

The official would not give further details.

Hundreds of users reported that the social networking site was down after attempting to log on from 7pm.

More than 400m people worldwide use this social networking of which Bangladesh accounts for just over 875,000 users.

Facebookers, as they are called, generally use this networking site to share personal details with friends.

BTRC’s chief technical officer Biplob Chakma confirmed media at around 9.30pm that the site was indeed blocked based on a ‘memo’.

He also said that he may be able to provide with further details about the shutdown on Sunday morning after reporting for duty.

However, Biplob declined to reveal the identity of the authority which issued the letter.

RAB arrested a youth from the capital early Saturday for publishing caricatures of prime minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia.

RAB also alleged that the youth was responsible of a number of cyber crimes using a number of fake identities.

A number of religion-based political organisations demanded closure of the site on Friday.

The parties that made this demand in a meeting at Muktangan include the Islami Andolan, Islami Oikkyajot and Khilafat Andolan.

Dhaka University vice chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique said, “This is nothing unexpected. It is happening because of the irresponsible attitude of its users.”

He also urged speedy identification and trial of those who violate privacy through such technology.

M Lutful Kabir, chairman of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology’s information, communication and technology department, gave mediahis initial reaction as a user.

“If Facebook affects any group or individual or causes any social problem then the Facebook authority should be contacted right away to remove the content causing the problem.”

Regarding the much harsher measure adopted by the Bangladesh government, he said, “Such blocks may be temporary, but it would be improper to make them permanent.”
. In fact, students have rallied and protested against the ban, calling it an interference with their freedom of expression.

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DHAKA,Bangladesh, May 16 (sources)- President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today gave separate messages on the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) that falls tomorrow.

President Zillur Rahman said the government announced `Vision-2021′ to build an ICT prosperous digital Bangladesh.

He hoped that the target would be achieved through united efforts of all and observing the world telecommunication day successfully.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her message said all service systems in civic life would be brought under modern digital system.

Appreciating the theme of the day “Better city, better life with ICT’s”, Sheikh Hasina urged all to work sincerely from their respective positions to build a digital Bangladesh.

She said the government is working relentlessly to build a digital Bangladesh developing IT based infrastructure, education, administration, management and human resources.

Sheikh Hasina said steps have been taken to extend optical fiber link up to union parishad level to establish quality ICT system in the rural areas.

Computer lab with IT facilities will be set up in each educational institutions, she added.

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