100,000 WiFi hotspots planned

The government is planning to set up 100,000 WiFi hotspots across Bangladesh to make Internet service more accessible.

State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak disclosed the plan at a discussion on Tuesday.

He, however, did not give details about the plan's execution.

Palak said WiFi networks would also be set up in 100 educational institutions.

Policy Cafe, a part of Centre for Research and Information, organised the discussion at the Bangladesh Computer Council.

‘One-student-one-laptop’ project would start in the universities from March, the state minister said.

Several banks had already shown interest in helping the project from their social responsibility funds, he said.

“Students can avail the opportunity by paying Tk 500 or Tk 1000 as monthly installment.”

Talks were on with state-owned mobile operator Teletalk and private operators as well to provide mobile data service to students at a low cost, Palak said.

Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman, who was also present at the discussion as the chief guest, said the use of Internet should be made an educational tool.

Photo: asaduzzaman pramanik/ bdnews24.com

Photo: asaduzzaman pramanik/ bdnews24.com

About 150 university students expressed their views in the ICT and education policies.

They vented their frustration over old teaching methods and lack of creativity.

They demanded accessible Internet and a reduction in the service charge.

They proposed the use of idle bandwidth of submarine cable in educational institutions, if possible.