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Bridging Digital Divide: Case Study of BangladeshNafiz Zaman Shuva

Lecturer, Department of Information Science & Library Management, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh & Erasmus Mundus Scholar for the International Master in Digital Library Learning

E-mail: nafiz_z@hotmail.com

About BangladeshBangladesh emerged as an independent and sovereign country in 1971 following a nine month war of liberation. It is one of the largest deltas of the world with a total area of 147,570 sq km. With a unique communal harmony, Bangladesh has a population of about 140 million, making it one of the densely populated countries of the world. The literacy rate of Bangladeshi people is 43.1%. Over 98% of the people speak in Bengali, English however is widely spoken (National Web Portal of Bangladesh, 2009). Bangladesh is among the poorest countries in the world. The UNDP lists it as number 146 according to the Human Development Index 2009, a composite of development and human development indicators. The per capita income is $554 (BBS, 2008). More than 35 million people in Bangladesh, around a quarter of its population, face acute poverty and hunger (Medical News Today, 2008).

Digital Divide in Library and Information Centre in Bangladesh: A Case StudyICT Status of Library and Information Centre in Bangladesh

Digital Divide

Source: BTRC (2009). http://www.btrc.gov.bd/index.php The total number of PSTN Phone Subscribers has reached 1603.187 thousand at the end of November 2009.

Role of Libraries in Eliminating Digital Divide

Digital divide in Bangladesh cannot be changed overnight. Continuous effective program should be taken to eliminate digital divide among Urban and Rural populations. Libraries of all types can play vital role in eliminating digital divide in Bangladesh. As at this moment this is not possible for any government to install computers in every school, colleges and other organizations in Bangladesh and offer internet service, however this is possible to introduce internet and other ICT based services in all government divisional, district and branch libraries. By introducing ICT in these libraries it opens the door for the mass people in the rural areas to access the ICT thus contributing elimination of digital divide.Libraries attached with various educational institutions should also try to introduce ICT based services as soon as possible .Federated initiatives can be taken by different libraries in one area to introduce ICT and offer ICT based services to all its users.

ICT in Bangladesh

First Mainframe computer came to Bangladesh in 1964. Internet came late in Bangladesh, with UUCP e-mail beginning in 1993 and IP connectivity in 1996. Recently Bangladesh Government has adopted a national ICT Policy-2009 which includes action items for realizing the goals of national development. Earlier national ICT Policy was published in 2002 aiming at building an ICT driven knowledge based society by the year 2010. National ICT Policy- 2009 consists of 10 broad objectives,56 strategic themes and 306 action items. SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable connectivity 21 May 2006 Currently there are 205 ISP, of these almost 80% ISPs are located in Dhaka Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) has extended ISP services to all 64 district According to the Internet World Stats as of September, 2009 there are currently 556,000 internet users in Bangladesh and the internet penetration is 0.4%.

Source: Information Society Statistical Profiles -2009, ITU.It is clear from the above table that among the 27 countries of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh ranked 27 in terms of use of ICT and no up-gradation of rank from 2002 to 2007. This analysis indicates the inadequate use of ICT in Bangladesh.

However Bangladesh Seen a Telecom RevolutionPSTN Phone Subscribers in BangladeshOperators SubscribersBTCL 872.409Ranks Telecom Ltd. 260.89Telebarta Ltd. 56.424Jalalabad Telecom Ltd. 7.9Onetel Communication Ltd. 39.385National Telecom Ltd. 117.376Peoples Telecom Ltd. 130.046Westec Ltd. 17Dhaka Telephone Co. Ltd. 72.66Sheba Phone Ltd. (ISL) 11.494S. A. Telecom System Ltd. 17.577Banglaphone Ltd. 0.026

Total 1603.187

Operators Active Subscribers

Grameen Phone Ltd. (GP) 22.75

Axiata (Bangladesh) Limited 8.87

Orascom Telecom Bangladesh Limited (Banglalink)

12.99

PBTL (Citycell) 1.97

Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd. (Teletalk) 1.06

Warid Telecom International L.L.C 2.92

Total 50.55

Mobile Phone Subscribers in Bangladesh

Source: BTRC (2009). http://www.btrc.gov.bd/index.php The total number of Mobile Phone Active Subscribers has reached 50.55 million at the end of November 2009.Key Factors•Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission established in 2002•Telephone call charge reduced significantly•Fixed line phone sector has been opened for private sector investment •Mobile telecoverage reaches most of the rural areas. •Competition exists among the telecom companies to improve service and to reach large number of peopleIn Bangladesh digital divide exist between

Urban and Rural PopulationRich and Poor

GendersGovernment and Private Organizations

Dhaka City and Others Districts of BangladeshOrganization in Dhaka and Organization in Other Districts of Bangladesh

Mainstream and the Tribal populations

Types of Libraries Number Internet service Available for users

Academic Libraries University Library 31 (Public) Yes53 (Private)

College Library 1750 Mostly NoPublic Libraries Govt. Public

Library68 No

Non-Govt. Public Library

1603 No

National Library of Bangladesh

National Library of Bangladesh

01 No

National Heath Library and Documentation Centre

01 Yes

Special Libraries Around 1000 Almost all based in Dhaka have internet connection

Source: Survey conducted by the author. Observations: Clear Digital Divide exist among the government libraries and the other libraries. Public libraries of Bangladesh in the age of ICT lagging behind the technological development. ICT status of National Library of Bangladesh is also frustrating.

Initiatives to Bridge Digital Divide by the Government of Bangladesh and other Organizations ICT has been declared as a ‘thrust sector’ by the Government

Considering the importance of ICT , the Govt. of Bangladesh has formed a national ICT Task Force called Support to ICT Task Force (SICT) with Honourable Prime Minister as its Chairperson with a view to offering administrative and secretarial support to the ICT Task Force in planning, designing, and implementing various ICT projects, particularly e‐Governance projects. A good number of e-government project has been implemented by this Task Force. Government of Bangladesh pledged to convert Bangladesh into ‘Digital Bangladesh’ by 2021 which is the 5oth anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh. Government has taken huge program to implement ICT related activates in almost all government sector as well as planning to spread ICT service to all. Bangladesh Government launched National Web Portal for Bangladesh at http://www.bangladesh.gov.bd/ . From this portal it is possible to get almost all information on the government of Bangladesh. Exemption of tax on Computer items Distribution of computers to schools Computerization of government offices

Case Study 1 : Grameen Bank Village PhoneGrameen Bank gave birth to the micro-credit movement in 1976 by giving the poorest of the poor access to small loans without the requirement of collateral. By bringing electronic connectivity to rural Bangladesh, Village Phone is bringing the digital revolution to the doorsteps of the rural poor and unconnected. By being able to connect to urban areas or even to foreign countries, a whole new world of opportunities is opening up for the villagers in Bangladesh. Thus, the telephone becomes a weapon against poverty. (The South Asian, 2001).By the end of 2008, there were about three hundred fifty-four thousand village phone ladies who have together taken loans amounting to BDT 2.57 billion. (Grameen Bank, 2009).

Residence Access to

2005 2000Electricity Telephone Mobile

PhoneElectricity Telephone Mobile Phone

National 44.23 2.87 11.29 31.2 - -Rural 31.19 0.33 6.05 18.7 - -Urban 82.61 10.36 26.73 80.4 - -Source: BBS, HIES 2005 (provisional) Access to Computer and E-mail

Digital Divide among Rural and Urban Population

Residence % of household have reported accessComputer e-mail

National 1.36 0.20Rural 0.17 -Urban 4.88 0.81

Source: BBS, HIES 2005 (provisional)

Case Study 2: Bangladesh Telecentre NetworkBangladesh Telecentre Network (BTN) is a coalition of organisations for fostering telecentre movement in Bangladesh. It is an inclusive network, where any individual or an institution committed to bring ICT to the doors of the common people across the country can be a member or partner. The network is based on the idea of maximizing the advantages of information and communication technologies (ICTs) through sharing of experiences and knowledge within the components of the organisation. It envisages addressing poverty alleviation through accessing information and knowledge by the poor as an overarching dimension of the Network's mission. As of January, 2010 there are 2165 telecentre in Bangladesh (BTN, 2009)

Recommendation to improve digital divide situations in Library and Information Centre:i) ICT development project in library and information centre should be taken by the government of Bangladesh immediately aiming at installing necessary ICT equipment at all government libraries as well as introducing ICT based modern services.

ii) Library and Information Science teaching and training institute should introduce new courses on ICT to produce more qualified LIS professionals.

Iii)International cooperation is a must to improve the vulnerable ICT status in the libraries of Bangladesh.iv) Library Association of Bangladesh and other professional LIS associations should guide the libraries in implementing ICT based services.

As of October 2009, 107  Computer Learning Centres has been established in 39 districts by the VAB-New Jersey in partnership with D.Net Bangladesh which aims to promote ICT usage among the unprivileged youth in Bangladesh.  Grameen Phone Community Information Center is offering internet other ICT based services to rural people. The pilot project in February 2006, which started with 16 CICs has become a massive operation with over 500 CICs running in around 450 Upzilla. More or less almost all NGOs and development organizations operating different ICT based program to reduce digital divide in Bangladesh.

ReferencesBangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. (2009). Annual Report -2007-2008. BTRC:Dhaka. Medical News Today (2008, October 31) Major cause of poverty in Bangladesh is marriage dowry. Retrieve November 21, 2009 from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/127710.phpNational Web Portal of Bangladesh (2009), National Statistics, Retrieved November 21, 2009 from http://www.bangladesh.gov.bdGrameen Bank (2009). Village phones. Retrieved November 21, 2009 from http://www.grameen-info.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=681&Itemid=676The South Asian (2001, February). South Asian success stories: Grameen village phone, village email and village internet Bangladesh. Retrieved November 21, 2009 from http://ijedict.dec.uwi.edu/viewarticle.php?id=487 Bangladesh Telecenter Network.(2009). About BTN. Retrieve January 09, 2010 from http://www.mission2011.net.bd/Grameen Phone Community Information Centre (2009). About GPCIC. Retrieve January 09, 2010 from http://www.gpcic.org/index.php?main=0&page_id=1&location=About%20UsRahman, L.M. & Ali, M.M. (2007) For bridging the digital divide. The Financial Express, June 27, 2009 Retrieve on January 05, 2010 from http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/06/27/71141.html

i) Lack of adequate funds to introduce ICT based services in different sectorsii) Lack of infrastructural facilities iii) Technological backwardnessiv) Absence of ICT in the school, college and university curriculumv) Socio-economic statusvi) Illiteracyvii) Lack of awareness programviii) Lack of government supportix) Corruption in different development project of Bangladesh etc.

Why Digital Divide in Bangladesh?

2010