Monday, June 10, 2019

Standardization of 5G

Wangshiwu

Wangshiwu
Wangshiwu
5G networks will offer an unprecedented leap in bandwidth speeds in comparison to previous mobile networks. It will also offer reduced latency and improve overall network efficiency. Streamlining network architectures will deliver end-to-end latency requirements of less than 5 ms. This will allow 5G to offer ultra-reliable low-latency communication for machine-to-machine and public safety applications. 

With end-to-end digital service transformation it will minimize OPEX, deliver efficiencies, and drive revenue growth. For 5G to deliver an attractive business model to mobile network operators and their customers, the network must enable efficient provisioning of a wide variety of new services for varied customers with different service level needs and performance requirements. Breakthroughs in wireless network innovation will also drive economic and societal growth in entirely new ways.

The development of 5G technologies is a cornerstone for realizing breakthroughs in the transformation of ICT network infrastructure. Ultra-broadband and intelligent-pipe network features that achieve near-instantaneous, "zero distance" connectivity between people and connected machines--no matter where they are--are just the first step. 5G will herald an even greater rise in the prominence of mobile access for realizing total ICT network growth and expansion. Over time, any mobile app and any mobile service will be given the potential to connect to anything at any time--from people and communities to physical things, processes, content, working knowledge, timely pertinent information and goods of all sorts in entirely flexible, reliable and secure ways.

5G technologies will need to be capable of delivering fiber-like 10 gbps speeds to make possible ultra-high definition visual communications and immersive multimedia interactions. These technologies will depend on ultra-wide bandwidth with sub-millisecond latencies. 5G wireless networks will support 1,000-fold gains in capacity, connections for at least 100 billion devices, and a 10 Gbps individual user experience capable of extremely low latency and response times. Deployment of these networks will emerge between 2020 and 2030. 

5G radio access will be built upon both new radio access technologies (RAT) and evolved existing wireless technologies (LTE, HSPA, GSM and WiFi). Breakthroughs in wireless network innovation will also drive economic and societal growth in entirely new ways. 5G will realize networks capable of providing zero-distance connectivity between people and connected machines. 5G will provide the foundational infrastructure for building smart cities, which will push mobile network performance and capability requirements to their extremes. Low latency and extremely high reliability, however, will also be essential requirements for the likes of mobile industrial automation, vehicular connectivity, and other IoT applications.

Connectivity + Computing + Cloud is becoming the main engine of mobile industry growth where ubiquitous connectivity with super-fast speed, IoT applications, AI, Intelligent Computing, chip-device-cloud synergy for intelligent experience, Smart Manufacturing, e-services and cloud will be the key enablers in near future. 5G will Bring MBB (Mobile Broadband) to a whole new level and serve for digital transformation. 

The three main requirements for establishing 5G will be eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband), uRLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication) and mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communications). eMBB will ensure 100 Mbps user experienced data rate and 20 Gbps peak data rate which is 100 times faster than current 4G. eMBB will increase the spectrum efficiency by three-fold. uRLLC will be a must for ensuring IoT, because everything from personal gadgets to home appliances to industry machines and all types of vehicles will be intricately connected with everything. Such a huge connection will need very low latency around 1 millisecond or even less.

 Here, huge data will not be necessary but low latency will be a must as the devices will have to follow the users' commands within milliseconds. For example, if a smart car misses a signal for a perfect U-turn, a deadly accident can occur resulting in loss of lives. uRLLC will ensure 0.5ms latency within an area of at least 500 km. That's really amazing. However, the mMTC will be needed for ensuring connectivity among a very big density of users in an area. To be precise, mMTC will provide 1 million connection per kilometer. All these technologies will give us 100 times more energy efficient operation in 5G. So, 5G will be the entrance of the digital world with All Things Connected.

5G will bring enormous new opportunities. It will also ensure different tariff models for users and connect everything. Cloud X will be another frontier to ensure next level user experience, which will unleash new business potentials and create more apps and devices to make everything wireless and convenient. Things were PC native in 2G and 3G, where connections and services are Mobile natives in 4G. But in 5G, everything is going to be Cloud native. 
For instance, a gamer fond of playing high-end games will no longer need a high-end smartphone to access his desired game. Just a simple smartphone will be enough to play the super powerful games through Could X. Because there will be cloud PC which will actually function in the cloud and the smartphone will only act as a joystick or monitor or controller remotely. Such distant operation will need very fast internet of at least 100 Mbps which will be ensured by 5G. We have already seen such applications in South Korea.

Vertical Industries are going through a new wave of generational transformation driven by multiple factors including societal changes, economic challenges and ageing of populations. In the next decade, many industries are evolving towards distributed production, connected goods, low energy processes, increasing automation, collaborative robots, integrated manufacturing and logistics.

The major incentives abetting this transformation are the potential to reap cost advantages and improve efficiencies by leveraging and integrating the latest advancements in the cellular, electronic, computing and manufacturing industries. For example, by 2020, autonomous and cooperative vehicles with enhanced safety and security standards are expected to be adopted in the US, Japan and Europe.

5G is developing faster than we ever imagined and the ecosystem is maturing in 2019. eMBB has already been established. uRLLC and mMTC are coming soon and we have already seen massive improvement. More than 100 operators will launch commercial 5G network in between 2019 and 2020. Operators all over the world are getting prepared to roll out 5G. But for that, they need to have a 100MHz spectrum constantly. 

Already in China and the US, the operators are using 2.6 GHz, 3.5 GHz bands. So seemingly, these bands among 2 to 5 GHz range are going to become a trend. In Bangladesh also, it will be wiser to take preparation for 2300MHz or 2600MHz band, and C-Band (3.5G Range) as ecosystem matures, especially the 5G terminals which will be ready first at those range. Ensuring the spectrum will be the first challenge for 5G enrollment as the spectrum needed for stable throughput will be much more than the current network in Bangladesh. We believe, the government, as well as BTRC, will closely collaborate in this regards. And Huawei is ready to provide all necessary equipment to help Bangladesh step into the 5G era.

The writer is Chief Technical Officer, Huawei Technologies Bangladesh Ltd 

Sunday, May 19, 2019

5G in Bangladesh



5G in Bangladesh
Guillaume Mascot *

Nokia understands that 5G requires a fundamental transformation to Operators’ network and business model. The necessary changes would touch all the domains of the network i.e., access, transport and core. This transformation journey involves number of intermediate steps to reach a certain level of maturity so that its full potential can be exploited. Understanding and focusing on right use cases for a particular market is a key for the success of 5G introduction. 5G provides a leapfrog of network capabilities in several dimensions i.e., access independent connectivity, extreme throughput, ultralow latency, virtual network slices. These unique capabilities produce limitless possibilities to articulate customized use cases relevant for a specific market.

5G mobile communications will cover a wider range of use cases and related applications including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of data sharing, and various forms of machine type applications, including vehicular safety, different sensors, and real-time control. 5G also needs the flexibility to support future applications that are not yet fully understood or even known. Starting with trials in 2016 and the deployment of first use cases in 2017, the full 5G system will be introduced in 2019/20 and will be in use well beyond 2030.

Nokia envisions 5G as a system providing scalable and flexible services with a virtually zero latency gigabit experience when and where it matters. In addition, 5G will provide at least a ten-fold improvement in the user experience over 4G, with higher peak data rates, improved “everywhere” data rates and a ten-fold reduction in latency.

The biggest difference between 5G and legacy design requirements is the diversity of use-cases that 5G networks must support compared to today’s networks that were designed primarily to deliver high speed mobile broadband. However, 5G will be about people and things that can be broadly split into three use case categories:

• Massive broadband that delivers gigabytes of bandwidth on demand
• Critical machine-type communication (uRLLC) that demands immediate, synchronized eyeto-hand feedback to remotely control robots and deliver the tactile Internet
• Massive MTC (mMTC) that connects billions of sensors and machines,

Nokia has established a broad range of innovation partnerships to find a common direction through collaboration in requirement setting, technology research and is a front leader in global standardization bodies related to 5G.

5G opens a wide range of possibilities for selecting frequency bands. The 5G footprint would be a combination of low, mid and high frequency bands. The low frequency bands (<1 24-28="" 39="" 6="" and="" are="" band="" bands="" broad="" capacity="" communication="" coverage.="" critical="" embb="" enhanced="" for="" frequency="" full="" ghz="" great="" grid="" high-range="" high="" input="" latency="" like="" local="" lot="" low="" lte="" massive="" mid-range="" mm-waves="" mobile="" multiple="" o:p="" output="" reliable="" sub="" suitable="" the="" ultra="" urllc="" with="">

The main spectrum for 5G deployment globally is seen to be 3.3 – 4.2 GHz. This frequency range will be the most widely licensed spectrum in the history of mobile networks. As per GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association) report in November 2018, 107 operators worldwide used 3.5 GHz band for trialing/launching 5G which is the highest number when compared with other band chosen by the operators. 5G in 3.5 GHz band can use existing base station sites for rapid deployment, while providing similar coverage to the existing LTE network at 1.8 GHz. 5G beamforming gives higher antenna gain, helping compensate for the higher path loss at 3.5 GHz compared to 1.8 GHz. The device ecosystem also would be evolving mainly around the most widely used frequency band which is 3.5 GHz. For the highrange frequency bands the most widely used bands are 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands.

Countries in Asia Pacific region are no exceptions when come to spectrum selection for 5G activities. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, New Zealand – all of these countries are investigating 3.5 GHz for mid-range band and 26/28 GHz for high-range band. They are mostly preparing for launching 5G by year 2020. In some countries like Vietnam, strong policy push is noticed for 4th Industrial revolution with 5G by 2020/2021.
Spectrum is the lifeblood of mobile communications and spectrum-related policies, including spectrum management, are critical for the future development of networks, including the evolution to 5G. To enable adoption, operators must be assured that sufficient and affordable spectrum is available in a timely manner. This is required to support the growing mix of data traffic that will be generated by the increasing number of humans and machines that will access (future) networks. Spectrum pricing should be balanced against network investments that will be required to ensure the ubiquitous availability of networks and services. Excessive pricing of spectrum can have as effect limited future investments in networks and innovative services and may delay their adoption. A simplification of the regulatory requirements attached to spectrum licenses will benefit operators (e.g. a technology neutral approach to spectrum, coverage obligations per technology, etc.) and an investment friendly environment should be put in place.

5G is a key for Digital Bangladesh. Clear and predictable legal regulatory framework and wireless strategy for true ubiquitous access are pivotal for building the regulations as demand stimulation tool. Finally understanding and embracing the challenges that 4th Industrial Revolution will bring is of great importance – careful considerations around socio-economic aspects, skill demands, investments in ICT infrastructure should be undertaken for better preparations of this new wave.


*Head of Government Relations APJ (Asia-Pacific, Japan), NOKIA

Bridging the Standardization Gap



Md. Saiful Islam *

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) purpose is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. The 2019 theme will allow ITU Membership and other key stakeholders to focus on the opportunities for:
• Participation of developing countries in ITU’s standards-making process;

• Empowering local experts in the standardization process at the national, regional and international levels; and

• Promoting the implementation of international standards in developing countries
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated targets will stimulate action until 2030 in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet. Like Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman said at the UNGA in 1974: “The role of Science and technology is to ensure minimum conditions of decent life for everyone everywhere”. Similarly ICT for SDG in Bangladesh focuses on no poverty, quality education, gender equality, industry innovation and infrastructure, peace and justice and partnerships for the goals. Digital Technology Waves started with Internet in 2000 where the number of users or devices with Internet reached one Billion. The second wave of Mobile Internet started in 2010 when the number of users reached a staggering ten Billion. The third wave of Internet of Things (IoT) is starting around 2020 where the no of users or devices is forecasted to reach 50 Billion. The fourth wave or the wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning and Robotics is something also in the very near future. Bridging the Standardization Gap in Bangladesh: Critical Areas for bridging the standardization gap in Bangladesh include:
1. Mitigating the Knowledge Gap
2. R&D Facilities
3. Standardization in rules & regulations
4. Standardization of Equipment
5. Standardization of Quality of Service

Below is an elaboration of the Challenges in bridging the Standardization Gap in Bangladesh context.
1.       Mitigating the Knowledge Gap: Creating the “Right” Enabling Environment for telecommunications & ICT in Bangladesh includes:

• Adding relevant topics in the educational curriculum.
• Creating an “Enabling environment” meaning policy, legal, market, and social considerations that interact both at domestic and global levels to create fertile conditions for ICT-led growth.

• Regulatory reform in terms of regulation of communications services and infrastructure, data privacy protection, security, intellectual property rights, public infrastructure, Internet governance (including domain name registra- * Director & Head, Network Planning & Deployment, Grameenphone Ltd. tion), and general principles of competition. Telecom operators, regulators and competition authorities also need to update their knowledge of what creates competition in the market.

• Competition from over the top (OTT) providers

• The evolution of network technology

• Single Play vs. Full Service Providers

• Changing Regulation in Investment Time Horizon


2.      R&D Facilities: Research and development (R&D) refers to innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, or improving existing services or products. OEMs (Original Equipment Vendors) must establish R&D centers in Bangladesh if their business volume crosses a certain limit (for ex 100 Mil USD per Annum) in the country. Existing giants like Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, etc. are making massive investments in Asian countries to utilize the cost advantage. Bangladesh, with its huge under-utilized manpower (cheaper than India, Malaysia and China), can also benefit from these initiatives, provided an established foreign investment platform with a nationwide IT infrastructure and skilled labor force is created. Policy of the Country needs to support development of R&D Facilities. Some examples which could create a favorable environment for R&D establishments are listed below:

a. Mobilization of sufficient research and training funds, venture and investment capitals from government, public, private and external sources for the promotion and application of R&D Centers.

b. Promotion of awareness about the importance of R&D among politicians, bureaucrats, researchers, managers, administrators, academics, professionals, members of the public and other stake holders.

c. Strengthening of intellectual property rights regime (e.g. enactment and enforcement of laws, strengthening of administrative and judiciary institutions) of the country.


3.      Standardization of Rules & Regulations:

There is a burning need for regulating telecommunication. Some steps in this regard can be as below:
a. The regulations of interconnection and pricing are the critical steps by regulators in the transition from monopoly to a competitive market.

b. In order to develop a national sound telecommunication infrastructure to support the economy and welfare of the country by providing telecommunication facilities on demand, assuring satisfactory quality of service and ensuring value to the customers, a sound National Telecommunication Policy (and regulations) are essential.

c. The existence of a functioning regulatory regime means the investors will feel safe to invest in a level playing field free from anticompetitive practices.

d. The radio frequency spectrum is considered to be a valuable limited national resource. It has been maintained by different national governments that control must be exercised on the allocation and usage of the radio frequency in order to check anarchy and disorder.

4.      Standardization of Equipment:

Standardization of equipment mainly consists of Interoperability, Quality equipment as well as being energy efficient. a. Interoperability: interoperability is the ability for two or more networks, systems, devices, applications or components to communicate. As networks continue to grow and diversify with the 5G and IoT era on the horizon, it b. Quality Equipment: We always encounter ITU’s international standards every day without knowing it. A hidden part of the information and communication (ICT) networks and devices we all use every day, ITU standards are rarely perceived by users but vital in enabling the interconnection and interoperability of ICT equipment and devices manufactured by hundreds of thousands of different companies around the world. ITU standards provide developers with a global market, enabling economies of scale in production and deployment that translate into benefits for users in both cost and functionality.
c. Energy Efficient: Telecom Networks have increased significantly in utility and capacity and are now a critical feature of most businesses. However, the energy consumed by networks has also increased. Power measurement is an essential part of the energy evaluation. Consequently, a complete definition of all of the factors influencing power consumption is necessary. First, it is necessary to define environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity and barometric pressure which all affect power consumption. Next step towards energy conservation in networks is to evaluate the energy efficiency of individual components as part of the selection process during evaluation or upgrade.

5. Standardization of Quality of Service (QoS): Quality of Service (QoS) consists of a set of parameters related to the performance of traffic on telecommunication network. QoS definitions contained in the ITU-T as: “The collective effect of service performance which determine the degree of service user satisfaction”. Telecommunication operators and service providers are able to provide better QoS, are more likely to retain existing customers and may increase again from rival operator customer churn. But a better QoS requires greater costs. Normally, each operator will balance QoS and cost. BTRC QoS Guidelines mainly focuses on End-toEnd QoS measurement establishment of subscribers including Subscriber perceived quality. QoS should encompass end to end value chain including NTTNs, Tower Companies etc. Power infrastructure is an integral part of the value chain and it’s the biggest cog in the wheel of Digital Bangladesh ambitions. Net Neutrality is another important factor of QoS. Internet service providers should treat all Internet communications equally and not discriminate or charge differently based on user, content, website, platform, application, type of equipment, or method of communication. There are no laws in Bangladesh regulating Internet Service Providers (ISPs) asking them to treat all data equally. ISPs are more than welcome to pick winners and losers, or even coerce payments from others. ISPs already have broad powers to restrict access to websites under the directive of courts and governments, and have done so in the past. We as patrons have little choice but to protest loudly against such moves. This leads to allowing a fair treatment to every website. Under this principle, governments should mandate ISPs to treat all data on the internet the same, and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication. Due to the above challenges Standardization delay may occur in Bangladesh and there are consequences in this delay. For example, there may be delay in 5G trial and the rollout of this Technology. Users may get lower speeds, higher delay and jitter as well as packet loss. The VAS-Content ecosystem flourishment delay as well as time to market for M-Agriculture and M-Health use cases. Overall this will impact Digital Bangladesh ambitions in the future. Guidelines for Establishment of a National Standardization Secretariat for ITU-T: Developing countries like Bangladesh need to be an integral part of ITU-T standards settings processes.

Guidelines for establishment of a National Standardization Secretariat for the ITU-T (NSS) include:

1. Preparing and submitting contributions to ITU-T study groups and TSAG (Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group): − Member states submit inputs to all ITU-T SGs and Associates to one ITU-T SGs. In preparing contributions directives should be followed.

2. Approval and deletion of ITU-T recommendations: − Traditional Approval Process (TAP) for new and revised recommendations is done by a study group which reached DETERMINATION that the draft text is mature to the approval procedures.

3. Approval and deletion of study Questions: − The work projects are defined in study Questions; − Questions and their allocation among the SGs are approved by (World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly) once every four years.

4. Role of the Member State in the process for private sector entities to join the ITU-T: − Member state decides whether or not to forward an organizations application to the ITU.

5. Authorizing delegations to ITU-T meetings: − Attendees include Member States in addition to other entities that are authorized or invited to attend.

6. Requests for TIES (Telecommunication Information Exchange Service) accounts: − Participation in the work of ITU-T and its SGs is not possible without a TIES account..

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* Director & Head, Network Planning & Deployment, Grameenphone Ltd.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

An Overview of the Products, Services and Business potentials of the Submarine Cable in Bangladesh


Md. Monwar Hossain                                                                                Parvez M. Ashraf    


Introduction

Bangladesh possesses great potentials in the ICT and Telecommunication sectors. As we are regularly experiencing, there is an increasing trend of using computers and availing mobile phone facilities or even the Tabs in the rural areas as in the urban areas of the Country. Bangladesh has got natural competitive advantage in terms of manpower, location and cost for establishing very promising Call Center or Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industries. Many young talents of the Country are already involved in IT related jobs like- Programming, Software development and outsourcing works, and thus the Software industry in Bangladesh has become flourishing with the continuous and restless efforts of the energetic Bangladeshi entrepreneurs within the last few years. Opening and widening up the opportunities with proper Government initiatives and support of the private sector can build a strong IT based infrastructure. The global ICT market has already appraised about the skills and standards of the Bangladeshi talents.  However, all these services and activities related to IT would depend heavily on the internet and International data connectivity.  Presently there are around 120 million mobile phone users and around 44 million Internet users in the country. In addition to usage of mobile phones for voice calls, there is a substantial increase in internet usage through mobile communications in rural and urban areas. ICT and Telecommunication services are getting increasingly popular to the people because these sectors have contributed much in changing their economic condition to a higher level. It is because of the Submarine Cable, that various service providers such as IIG, IGW, BWA, etc. have been benefitted and Internet traffic for both Voice and Data has increased exponentially in Telecommunication industry of Bangladesh. With the efficient and effective utilization of the enormous potentials of the Submarine Cable, the Telecommunications and ICT sector promises a significant contribution to the economy of Bangladesh to boost the nation into a middle income country soon.

Role of the Submarine Cable in Expansion of Broadband Internet in Bangladesh

In the past, before the submarine cable era started in Bangladesh, the long distance telecommunication of Bangladesh was dependent on Satellite systems with severe limitation of bandwidth and speed of communication. We have become aware now that the availability of Internet with high magnitude of bandwidth has great impact on the economic development of the country. Becoming a member of South East Asia- Middle East-Western Europe-4 (SEA-ME-WE-4) consortium, Bangladesh received initial capacity of 7.5 Gbps. Presently, capacity of Bangladesh in SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine Cable System of BSCCL is around 200 Gbps. In recent years, as a result of connecting with submarine cable system there were rapid expansions of the broadband internet industry, resulting in over 180 registered ISP's by 2005 and the number of Internet subscriptions grew from 186,000 in 2000 to 617,300 in 2009. According to official reports, in Bangladesh the total number of Internet Subscribers has reached 36.25 million at the end of August 2013 which is around 23% of the total population.  

The Submarine Cable under BSCCL could provide services to the subscribers at much cheaper price than others as BSCCL would be able to connect many international IP transit points with its own submarine cable system. Bangladesh would expect good revenue earnings by introducing licenses for these services. As a result of connecting with the submarine cable system there were rapid expansions of the broadband internet industry. Keeping the “Vision 2021, Digital Bangladesh” in view, the Government of Bangladesh has exclusive plans to extend the broadband internet and telecommunication facilities for the benefits of the people as elaborated in Government’s ILDTS (International Long Distance Telecommunication Service), Broadband and ICT Policies: the Broadband Penetration rate required to be pulled up from 7% (2011) to 30% within year 2015, by 2015, all the union councils are needed to be under the broadband network, by 2013, about 1.7 million educational institutions (schools and colleges) were supposed to be provided with broadband connections, etc. Already the DCs (District Commissioners) and ADCs are connected; and 1000 Union Councils would be connected through optical fibers and fiber optic connectivity will reach Upazilla Health Centers to provide access to information, video conferencing, telemedicine, etc. The Government has formulated the new standard of Broadband and the bandwidth has to be at least 5 Mbps to meet that standard. To implement the policies and the Vision 2021, a large amount of bandwidth needs to be made available to the Government which will be provided by the Submarine Cable.

After catering for the needs for bandwidth inside the country, Bangladesh has still got opportunities to lease out submarine cable bandwidth to land locked neighboring countries like Nepal and Bhutan. BSCCL is presently working to design for links to Indian North-Eastern provinces for transport of IP transit as below;

(a)  Cox’s Bazar – Chittagong – Comilla – B. baria – Akhaura – Agortola
(b) Cox’s Bazar – Chittagong – Comilla – B. baria – Sylhet – Tamabil – Shilong (Meghalaya).

There is a demand of BSCCL bandwidth in Myanmar also. If BSCCL could be involved to tap the Telecom requirements of those parts of the Globe, it could earn a good deal of foreign currency during the life-times of the submarine cables.

Principal products and services of BSCCL

Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) is an International Long Distance Communications and International Internet Gateway (IIG) operator that provides various Telecommunications services through the Submarine Cable network.


BSCCL has a Submarine Cable Landing Station located at Jhilongja, Cox’s Bazar from where Backhaul Service Providers are connected. Clients can connect their fiber optic cable for IPLC (International Private Leased Circuits) service from co-location centers (Presently at Chittagong, Mohakhali/Dhaka and Moghbazar) of Backhaul Service Providers. Moreover, with a view to provide multiple options for backhaul connectivity, a co-location centre has been established in Cox's bazar landing station. BSCCL's valued clients can choose their backhaul providers who could directly connect their fibers at the co-location centers of BSCCL. BSCCL is the root service provider of submarine cable bandwidth and handles country’s only submarine cable. Presently, BSCCL is providing the following services:

  • Bandwidth service for different routes and different levels such as STM-1, STM-4, STM-16 to the International Internet Gateway (IIG) companies through International Private Leased Circuits (IPLC).
  • Bandwidth service for different routes and different levels such as STM-1, STM-4, STM-16 to the International (Voice) Gateway (IGW) companies.
  • IP Transit Services to IIG companies
  • IPLC services to any Corporate Customers as per the approval of telecommunications regulatory body of Bangladesh.
  • IIG (International Internet Gateway) which should help the people to get broadband Internet with cheaper rate and better quality of service.


Presently, the Company offers the following products:

  1. IPLC (International Private Leased Circuit) for IIG
  2. IPLC (International Private Leased Circuit) for IGW
  3. IPLC (International Private Leased Circuit) with IP Transit for IIG
  4. IIG (International Internet Gateway) Services for ISP
  5. Dedicated Leased Circuits for Corporate Clients
An International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) is a dedicated end-to-end connectivity between any two points of locations. It is suitable for IIG, IGW and also for International & National Organizations/Corporations (who require reliable & secure links with committed bandwidth for data/voice/video/internet communications between their offices).
Key Benefits of BSCCL’s IPLC and Internet Gateway services are the following:

1)      High Bandwidth Dedicated Full Duplex Digital Communication
2)      Private, Reliable & Secure
3)      Fast, Efficient & Error free
4)      Global Reach through India, Malaysia, Singapore, Middle East & Europe.
5)      One Stop Shopping Facilities
6)      24 x 7 Tech Support
7)      Constant exchange of Data, Voice, Video, etc. in large volumes & in various formats between multiple destinations.

Joining with the Second Submarine Cable

Existing SMW-4 cable is the only submarine cable that has kept Bangladesh connected with the international information superhighway. Due to any calamity or other reasons, if this cable gets into any kind of physical damage or disruption, country’s international long distance telecommunication would suffer badly. That’s why Bangladesh has been working for long to achieve redundancy for the existing SEA-ME-WE-4 (SMW-4) Submarine Cable as it is a necessity for the country to support for Internet and voice traffic during outage in the SMW-4 cable.

The new SEA-ME-WE-5 (SMW-5) cable will be another submarine cable connecting South East Asia with Western Europe through Middle East and Africa. The cable would also be extended to Hong Kong and Japan. Bangladesh will join as a branch party to this submarine cable. BSCCL worked with the SMW-5 Consortium for implementation of a Branch Sharing arrangement with Myanmar through the “Branch on Branch” architecture, which has helped Bangladesh to reduce the cost in a significant way.

SMW-5 Submarine Cable System will be a 100G DWDM based 20,000 Km long repeatered system that is planned to connect eighteen (18) landing stations. The system will be built with three (3) fiber pairs having 80 λ/fiber-pair (λ, pronounced as “lambda”, is the Greek letter for wavelength of Light), so 80 x 100 Gbps = 8 (eight) Terabits per second capacity for each fiber pair; thus providing a very high design capacity of 24 Terabits per second.

The technology that made this 100 G transmission possible is Polarization Multiplexed QPSK modulation (PM-QPSK) with a coherent receiver. Modulation is required to ensure propagation, to perform multiple accesses and to enhance the SNR, as well as to achieve bandwidth compression. PM-QPSK modulation technique would decrease the baud or symbol rate of the system, using four bits per symbol, keeping the optical spectrum four times narrower than the unreduced baud rate. Because of the capability to pass through multiple Optical Add-Drop Multiplexers (OADMs) and its practical PMD (Polarization Mode Dispersion) tolerance, PM-QPSK is recognized as a viable format for deployment within 50GHz-spaced systems.

Alcatel-Lucent of France and NEC of Japan have been selected for jointly work on building the system.  Both suppliers will use their latest high performance equipments, cable and systems using efficient DWDM, Polarization Division Multiplexed Digital Phase Modulation/Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (PDM-QPSK or DP-QPSK) and Coherent detection technologies, with highly flexible ROADMs (Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer) along the links.

The Submarine Line Terminal Equipments (SLTEs) will handle very high speed traffic transported to a long distance; and the system will be extremely reliable with sufficient protection schemes and high speed automatic protection switching.

Advantages of joining the SMW-5 Consortium

Joining the SMW-5 cable consortium is expected to bring about a number of benefits for both BSCCL as a submarine cable company, and Bangladesh, as a country. Some of those benefits are described below:

(i) For extending the voice traffic to different parts of the World particularly Middle East, Europe and America, Bangladesh can have chances to reach these destinations almost without any extra charges.

(ii) For IP Transit, Bangladesh would have multi-choices to bring IP bandwidth at a cheaper rate covering both east & west side destinations. This means that BSCCL shall have better opportunity to arrange its traffic (IP) from cheaper destinations of East & West.


(iii) Bangladesh as a country would enjoy the total benefit of redundancy of the circuits & also the multiple destinations for SMW-5.

(iv)  The unit cost for bandwidth would be much cheaper in case of SMW-5 cable. Moreover, the adaptation of future technology for future expansion can be easy approachable.

(v)   There would be a very good opportunity to flourish BPO industries (Call centers, data entry, Software export etc) in Bangladesh with the support of two submarine cable communication systems.

An additional plan has also been made by BSCCL to interconnect the two submarine cable Landing Stations of Bangladesh with a submarine cable. In this way, the two landing stations Cox’s Bazar (for SMW-4) and Kuakata (for SMW-5) will be interlinked. The estimated length of this link is estimated as of the length of 350 Km. It is planned to be made of 2 (two) fiber pairs with an initial capacity of 100 Gbps/per fiber pair and 16 Tbps as design capacity. Other important feature proposed in this submarine cable system is that this would be a repeater less system with a design life of about 25 years. The two submarine cable systems will also be interconnected through a terrestrial DWDM backbone. However, there are vulnerabilities of cable cuts at any location along the route of the terrestrial system, and the interconnection through both the Submarine Cable and Terrestrial System working as a ring will ensure the strong security and redundancy in the Submarine Cable Infrastructure of Bangladesh which will keep the core communication infrastructure seamlessly connected to the Information Superhighway.

Conclusion

The network of submarine or undersea cables around the earth has made today’s broadband internet very fast. It further holds the potential of offering more data transmission capacity.  The global network of today is made of extensive undersea submarine and terrestrial network segments linked together to connect almost all continents of the world. With the development of branching units, more than one destination can be served by a single cable system. Now-a-days, a vast majority of the international traffic is carried by the submarine cables. The reliability of submarine cables is considered high, as multiple paths can be made available in the event of a cable break. Also, the typical information carrying capacity of a single optical fiber in the submarine cables is several terabits per second (Tbps) with such small latencies as just a few milliseconds (ms). It is almost impossible for any other system to match with these submarine cable systems in terms of signal quality, bit-rate (capacity) and latency. Thus, there is a good demand for the optical submarine cable links and these have become national assets to the owner countries.

References

  1. Alcatel: www.alcatel-lucent.com/submarine/
  2. NEC: http://www.nec.com/en/global/prod/nw/submarine/index.html
  3. Optical Internetworking Forum: http://www.oiforum.com/
  4. Telegeography: www.telegeography.com
  5. Suboptic Forum: www.suboptic.org
  6. Infinera: www.infinera.com
  7. Optical Fiber Telecommunications part V- vol. B (Systems and Networks) edited by I. P. Kaminow,T. Li & A. E. Willner
  8. Performance of Dual-Polarization QPSK for Optical Transport Systems by K. Roberts, M. O’Sullivan, K. T. Wu, H. Sun, A. Awadalla, D. J. Krause, & C. Laperle
  9. Latest Technology of Optical Transmission System (40G/100G Solutions) Deployed in SMW-4 Submarine Cable Upgrade and the Bandwidth Situation in Bangladesh by Md. Monwar Hossain & Parvez M. Ashraf (published in Teletech 2011)
  10. Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (100 G Solution) adopted in SMW-5 Submarine Cable System - What is in the Laboratory for Higher Bandwidth Solution? by Md. Monwar Hossain & Parvez M. Ashraf (published in Teletech 2012)
  11. Use of Advanced Optical Transmission Technologies for Redundancy in the Submarine Cable Systems of Bangladesh by Md. Monwar Hossain & Parvez M. Ashraf (published in Teletech 2013)
  12. Joining Bangladesh with the Second Submarine Cable (SEA-ME-WE-5) by Md. Monwar Hossain & Parvez M. Ashraf (published in Teletech 2014)
  13. Acknowledgment: Mr. Md. Zakirul Alam, DGM (Development), BSCCL for Information & diagrams on SMW-5 Project & Mr. Abdul Wahhab, DGM (IIG), BSCCL for the Information & diagrams on IIG and IP Transit Setups.
________________________________________________________________________

Md. Monwar Hossain: Managing Director, BSCCL
Parvez M. Ashraf: Deputy General Manager (Bandwidth Planning), BSCCL

Friday, May 15, 2015

BTCL striving for excellence.

Md. Aminul Hassan
GM, Transmission, BTCL.

Dial Up

Dialup is simply the application of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to carry data on behalf of the end user. Dial up networking technology provides PCs and other network devices access to a LAN or WAN via standard telephone lines. It involves a customer premises equipment (CPE) device sending the telephone switch a phone number to direct a connection to.

A dial-up connection can be initiated manually or automatically by personal computer's  modem or other device. BTCL offers subscription plans for home computer users.
Types of dial up services include V.34 and V.90 modem as well as ISDN. Dial up systems utilize special-purpose network protocols like Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP).
The performance of dial up networking is relatively poor due to the limitations of traditional modem technology. V.90 modem dial up supports less than 56 Kbps Bandwidth and ISDN handles approximately 128Kbps. Many home users are currently replacing their dial up services with high-speed broadband technologies that operate at much higher speeds

ISDN

ISDN is the abbreviation of integrated services digital network. It is international standard for sending Voice and Data over digital telephone on normal telephone wire.
There are two types of ISDN:
· Basic Rate Interface  (BRI) -- consists of two 64-Kbps  B-channel s and one  D-channel  for transmitting control information.
· Primary Rate Interface  (PRI) -- consists of or 30 B-channels and one D-channel. The co-axial cable can be used in this case. Normally use E1 connectivity. 

In both the services end-user can transfer voice and data (e.g. Video Conferencing) at end-to-end level. The protocol in the core is ISDN user part (ISUP) and DSS1 (Q.931) in the terminal side. The data packet can be transparently passed between/among the end users.

BTTB started the ISDN service both in Basic rate and primary rate. The service first inaugurated in May 2003 by the then Honorable Prime minister. Commercial service of Basic rate was started in Sept 2006 by providing service to GrameenPhone and Primary rate started in April 2009 to ADN. The vendor for the service was Nortel Netas at the beginning but now other vendor like Huawei also come up by providing PRI service. 
Currently BTCL providing PRI services more than 30 different organizations including US, Canada, Sweden embassy.

ADSL

Data was introduced in 2006, Telephone companies backed xDSL technology to provide next generation high bandwidth services to the home and business using the existing telephone cooper cabling infrastructure. xDSL Refers collectively to all types of digital subscriber lines, in which the two main categories: the Asymmetric DSL (ADSL) and the symmetric DSL (SDSL).  

xDSL to the home over existing phone lines promises bandwidths up to theoretically 8.448 megabits per second and more, but distance limitations and line quality conditions can reduce the data rate. xDSL technologies uses a greater range of frequencies over the telephone cable than the traditional telephone services have used.  This in turn allows for greater bandwidth with which to send and receive information, enabling for example continuous transmission of motion video, audio, and even 3-D effects.
xDSL utilizes more

GPON :

At present BTCL is providing its end user with voice service as well as ADSL based  internet service over its traditional copper wired network all over Bangladesh. As ADSL has huge limitations in terms of no. connections and data speed capacity, BTCL is introducing a latest technology, GPON  in its network. GPON stands for Gigabit Passive Optical Networks. These short-haul network ( max. 20 km) of fiber-optical cable supports triple-play services of  Internet access, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), and digital TV delivery simultaneously. It  can deliver 2.488 Gbits/s downstream and 1.244 Gbits/s upstream.
GPON cuts floor space and electricity usages in office building by as much as 95% compared to traditional copper networks, leading to the claim that GPON is a green technology.

GPON network is being laid down by BTCL through its two projects, RODTS (171KL) and TNDP.  Already GPON/Triple play services  are being used by the subscribers of Mirpur DOHS. RODTS(171KL) will install GPON network of 37,700 connections in Dhaka and TNDP will install a network of 1,01,940 connections in Dhaka and Chittagong metropolitan cities.
structure where network antenna or communication equipment placed.

LTE

LTE stands for Long Term Evolution.LTE provides high speed data connectivity through wireless media. Its optimal speed is 27.8 Mbps downlink. It’s a 4G technology which is ready to mitigate digital divide and reach the unreachable. To fulfill the digital Bangladesh goal of present Government BTCL has taken “Installation Wireless Broadband Network for Digital Bangladesh” project. The main components of this project are installation of core network at two different places in Dhaka, Installation of 670 at different District, Upazillas throughout the country including 7(Seven) Divisional Headquarters.  Total cost of the project is 95684.24 Lac Taka in which Project aid from EDCF Korea is 61215.00 Lac taka(near about 65% of total cost) and GoB (F.E.) is 34469.24 Lac Taka. Project duration is from May 2014 to June 2017.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Focus on broadband speed and its significance on development sustainability - Mamun Monzurul Aziz

A. NEED FOR SPEED:
In today’s society all over the world, accessibility to the Internet, with all its possibilities, is a greatly important part of people’s everyday life. This holds true seen anywhere from an individual’s perspective to large organizations on a macro scale. In order to use common Internet services, a fast connection is essential. Broadband, which is a collection of high-speed techniques for Internet connection, which is still under constant development, is a very indispensable focus now a day.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Empowering Farmers Through Connecting to Market Through ICT in Bangladesh -Mohammad Taherul Islam*

Brief Description
Accounting for 18.87% of the GDP, agriculture and rural economy play a strategic role in accelerating economic growth and alleviating poverty in Bangladesh. When forward and backward linkages are taken into account, the agriculture and agribusiness contribution to GDP is estimated at about 35%. In a country, where 60% of the workforce is absorbed by agriculture, farmers’ needs come as a priority when envisioning the country’s future. “e-Agriculture” is an emerging field where Information and Communication technologies or ICTs (Radio, TV, Cell Phone, PDAs, PCs) can help farmers boost productivity by giving them access to vital information, such as weather forecasts, crop advice and market pricing, empower them by establishing linkages with policy makers and promote growth or agri businesses and rural enterprises by connecting the country with the international market. The MLP concept has been developed with the vision of utilizing the benefits of ICT and the huge opportunities that internet provides as a development enabler for rural people. The Market Linkage Program (MLP) is online information and trading portal for agricultural products. Access to market (information and transaction) for the farmers is a major constraint in Bangladesh which causes financial loss and hinders improvement in livelihood process. The core purpose of MLP is to address the needs of farmers for marketing (selling) their produces at fair price and also to provide updated price and market
information to them. The platform will act simultaneously as a virtual market place for actors in the value chain including farmers, local traders, wholesale/retail traders, bulk buyers and also physical service facilities through telecentres / information centres.
* Assistant Divisional Engineer, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited



WORLD TELECOMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SOCIETY DAY 2014 57
Fig 1: Market Linkage Program (MLP) Model Through this service sellers will be able to sell their goods without going to the physical market. Likewise, buyers will be able to search for their desired items available from all over the country over the internet. The scope of the service includes online negotiation and ordering system for agro commodities along with secure mobile payment mechanism built within the system. Mobile based instructions will go to the bank system for online fund transfer. Agents will work as the human interface between sellers and buyers in order to ensure smooth delivery of goods form end to end. Sellers will be able to withdraw money at any time from ATM booths, banks, cash-out agents or POS outlets. The platform will be accessible from multiple access points such as Community Information Centers (CICs), mobile phones or any point with internet connectivity which will make it more convenient for users. Other than online trading opportunity, MLP will also provide various value added services such as market information, price information, database of various chain actors, Quality Control, demand-supply data etc.
Objectives
The MLP is to remove trade barriers in the existing agriculture value chain in Bangladesh. The broad objectives of empowering farmers through connecting to market through ICT in Bangladesh are:
l. Fostering rural prosperity and grassroots level development by empowering farmers with information, knowledge and training;
ll. Developing a decentralized, localized and non-human based extension program with proper management and efficient delivery;
lll. Promoting, supporting and enhancing rural farm and non-farm enterprises;
lV. Mainstreaming ICT in the areas of agricultural research, development, education, extension and training;
V. Empowering farmers through creating opportunity to access wider markets by utilizing the mobile phone, internet and other ICT tools as a development enabler;
Vl. Facilitate framers an alternative market channel to address their demands for selling their produces in fair prices;
Vll. Facilitate various value added services for agro-products;
Vlll. Establish e-trading system in agro-commodity trading in Bangladesh;
lX. Reverse the supply driven market system into a demand driven one.
ICT Pathways to Poverty Reduction as Empowering Like Farmers Model With that in mind, “e-Agriculture Vision 2025” envisages a Bangladesh where:
• The village population would still be heavily dependent on agriculture for income and employment, but productivity would have increased through diversification as farms apply productivity-enhancing technologies and environmentally-friendly technologies.
WORLD TELECOMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SOCIETY DAY 2014
• Commercialization and Agri-business would be less vulnerable to agronomic and market risks.
• The number of rural non-farm (backward/forward linkage) enterprises would grow, though most would remain small. Most enterprises may be in trading and services with small-scale manufacturing to strengthen backward and forward linkages to agriculture locally.
• Farmers would be economically active, nationally organized, and socially conscious and have a voice in policy formulation.
Priority Areas for Vision Implementation of Empowering Farmers
In order to implement the vision, this document identifies seven priority areas and explores role of ICT.
1. Human resource development
New and emerging technologies such as those involving integrated crop management and improved nutrient balance are increasingly becoming complex and location specific. Literacy lessons for farmers, combined with computer courses can facilitate agricultural education and training. ICT can also play a vital role in women empowerment. Telecentres can create jobs for women and promote women-run enterprises through which, they can earn money by offering their information and communication services to fellow community members.
2. Research and Development
Use of ICT in research and development relate more to the applications and uses to which the ICTs are put, the ways they are organized and the ways in which ICTs are embedded in the wider policy, research and outreach work of research institutes. It is important to devise appropriate frameworks that agricultural research institutes in Bangladesh can use to ensure that they most effectively apply ICTs and knowledge to achieve their goals and objectives. Developing a shared vision, identify key information and knowledge processes and devising organizational structures are likely to be critical elements in such strategic frameworks.
3. Rural Finance
ICT innovations such as a personal computer connected to the internet, an automated teller machine (ATM), a point-of-sale (POS) device located at a local retail or postal outlet may be less expensive to establish than branches located in rural areas and more convenient for customers. The proliferation of mobile services in Bangladesh has created a unique opportunity to provide financial services over the mobile network (ex: flexiload). Remote mobile loan payments can be initiated using short message service (SMS), also known as text messaging, and wireless application protocol (WAP) technologies.
4. Extension Service
Extension organizations have a key role in brokering between communication technologies, providers of those technologies and services, and the client groups they serve. Extent workers, equipped with ICTs add tremendous strength to already existing wide rage of service. Some of those strengths include: o A new range of additional media that can be part of the communication for development “mix” of traditional and/or appropriate media.
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o Bottom up articulation and sharing of information on needs and local knowledge; o Increased efficiency in use of development resources because information is more widely accessible; o Less duplication of activities o Rapid speed of communication - locally, nationally and globally o Reduced communication costs in comparison to other available communication choices
5. Agribusiness
ICT can serve to bridge the digital divide and provide relevant business and market information to rural areas to reduce their isolation and foster new income-generating activities in the agribusiness and other non-farm activities by improving communication linkages between growers, processors and retailers for a better transfer of knowledge and technology, developing forecasting of market prices and disseminating prices to producers etc. Individuals or groups in geographically based ICT enabled communities may find themselves connected to one or more different forms of online communities. Online participation can lead to greater face-to-face participation with the geographic community. Relationships therefore form in both directions, with one potentially increasing the livelihood of the other. Such interactions have implications for the evolution of nature service delivery by e-Government and the growth of new agribusiness products to consumers and communities.
6. Natural Disaster
The consequences of natural and man-made disasters and the vulnerabilities to which populations are exposed can be mitigated if they are targeted proactively. Information and communications technology (ICT) can potentially play a pivotal role in disaster prevention, mitigation and management. Remote sensing for early warning is made possible by various available technologies, including telecommunication satellites, radar, telemetry and meteorology. ICT encompasses both traditional media (radio, television) as well as new media (cell broadcasting, Internet, satellite radio), all of which can play a major role in educating the public on the risks of a potential or impending disaster. Furthermore, ICT plays a critical role in facilitating the reconstruction process and in coordinating the return of those displaced by disasters to their original homes and communities.
7. Value and Promote Social Capital
Through access and effective use of ICT individuals and communities have a greater opportunity for engagement with others, broadening their understandings and building bonding, bridging and linking capital. Greater participation in communities is assumed to contribute to stronger social capital within the community at the local, state, national and global levels and hence contributes to improved economic and social outcomes.
Enabling Policy Environment
Although the National Agriculture Policy of Bangladesh does not currently include a national integrated ICT strategy, most entities, however, within the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (Training, Research and Development) have their own vision, strategy for ICT. At the top level, the importance of ICT development is recognized and supported. In order to put an e-Agriculture enabling environment in place, the development and implementation of various e-Policies and e-Strategies should always remain supreme in the processes. These policies should:
o Build capacity of rural stakeholders and extension workers in use and application of ICT o Enhance farmers’ and producers’ access to market information and information on farming techniques and practices.
WORLD TELECOMMUNICATION AND
6  INFORMATION SOCIETY DAY 2014
o Enhance farmers’ access to rural finance thus promote rural enterprises. o Improve dissemination of and access to scientific and technical information. o Enhance access to statistics and other types of information policy and decision-making. o Develop virtual communities/networks for information and knowledge exchange between rural stakeholders, as well as for their empowerment through participation. o Encourage Pubic-Private Partnership especially in the areas of human resource development, extension and agribusiness promotion.
Priority Actions
A vision reflects people’s aspirations, their potential for growth and development, and lays out the efforts needed to fulfill the vision. Therefore, in order to attain the full potential of a nation that is depicted in the vision we need to prioritize actions which would mobilize initiatives from different levels of public and private sectors in a focused manner
Community-Based Information Center
Leverage the existing infrastructure of Union Parishad, IPM/ICM clubs and/or other COBs to set up integrated digital information centers for farmers. These community-based information centers would provide a platform for local public and private organizations that are working in the field of agriculture to come together and offer coordinated support and service to the agriculture community. This could also be a venue for male and female, young and old farmers, fishermen and livestock owners to interact and lean together. Although seemingly negligible, these would afford the villages a voice that can be heard at a distance, and if sustained, carry prospects for altering previous relationships with extension workers, traditional communication systems and modes of learning that are usually provided top-down. Within the AICC network, farmers from the different pilot sites would be able to share indigenous information, serve as each other’s “experts” and learn from each other. Some of the perceived benefits farmers could receive through an AICC are listed below.
Farmers’ Call Centre
Establish call centres to address the need of the farming community making use of increased tele-density and Information Technology. Call centers will provide professional help, information and real-timem solution available to farmers at their doorstep, on a subsidized or toll-free telephone number. The content/expert advice may be provided by Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock while the physical infrastructure of the call centers may be set up in partnership with private sector players.
Radio/TV Programs
Improve quality of existing radio and tv agriculture related shows and introduce new programs in the form of talk shows, farmers’ phone-in programs in the public channels/stations. Strengthening partnership with private channels to procure agriculture related programs and broadcast using public mediums will also be initiated. Coordination shall be improved to motivate and strengthen performance of various media personnel including news reporters, producers, anchors, working in the field of agriculture
Agriculture Database
Create a electronic database, which compiles and collates the actual location specific need of farmers and classifies it in an intelligent format for use by decision makers, researchers, traders and industrialists. The database will also trap the traditional knowledge systems available with the farming community to enrich the knowledge bank in agricultural sector and their application in the farmers’ fields.
Agriculture Encyclopedia
Develop a dynamic e-Agriculture encyclopedia for use by farmers, agriculture extension workers, agro-input dealers and various other stakeholders, which will also provide an opportunity for the scholars and agriculture scientists to play a dynamic role in the transformation of Bangladeshi agriculture to a sustainable one.
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Coordination
Ensure better coordination amongst service agencies and research organizations within Ministry of Agriculture. Develop methods to monitor and evaluate effectiveness and efficiency of extension service and all layers of information flow through ICT.
Expected Results
The goal of the Market Linkage Program is to integrate the existing agro-value chain actors and make them a part of an online based service platform. The direct benefits expected from these empowering farmers through connecting to market through ICT in Bangladesh are:
l. Most of farmers will be directly and indirectly benefited through the Market Linkage Program;
ll. An inclusive and efficient online platform for direct upstream sales opportunity for farmers and other value chain actors;
lll. Online database/portfolio of local agro-value chain actors;
lV. Develop a process to ensure easy access to price information through which sellers will be able to compare different market prices and increase their bargaining capacity;
V. Increase internet uptake and ICT enabled services in rural areas;
Vl. Demand-supply data created which will help forecasting and integrated planning of production and harvesting;
Vll. Create an online network of producers and buyers and other stakeholders all over the country;
Vlll. MLP grading system established to ensure quality products;
lX. Involving intermediaries in MLP with defined value-addition role will bring transparencies and reduce their influences on price and procurement process.
X. Financial institutions involved and create new opportunities for various financial services for agro value chain actors, specially farmers;
Xl. Create new employment and business opportunities such as, MLP agents, business promoter, online trading centres etc.;
Xll. Awareness building among the stakeholders including other telecom operators, bulk buyers and value chain actors on using ICT enabled trading services;
References
l. http://www.idrc.ca/EW/Resources/ Publications/Openbook/539-7/Index.html
2. http://www.itu.int/en/ITUD/Conferences/ connect/AsiaPacific/Documents/Projects
_publication_CASP_2013-e.pdf
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_ and_communication_technologies_for_d
evelopment
4. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/E-Commerce _and_E-Business/E- Commerce in_
Developing_ Countries
6. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), October, 2013
7. Communications, IEEE Transaction on Volume 62 Issue 4, December, 2013

8. Frieden, R. (2013). ITU World Telecom 2013 report. Info, 9(4), 81-83