Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) of the ICT Division has founded a project called "Connected Bangladesh" to provide internet access to remote areas of the country. The project started in October 2018 and will run till December 2023 with an estimated cost of BDT 50443.31 lacs. Through this project, BCC will ensure internet facilities in 617 remote unions of Bangladesh. Under the project, a high network will be established in the telecommunication-deprived areas.
One of the objectives of this project is to provide network connectivity to all schools, colleges, madrasas, growth centres, telecom operators etc. in remote areas. Apart from promoting e-commerce, e-services, telemedicine through high-speed internet usage, one of the goals of the project is to increase employment in the IT sector and create new entrepreneurs. T
The Connected Bangladesh project is being implemented with the funding of the 'Social Obligation Fund (SOF)' managed by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) under the Posts and Telecommunications Division to expand telecommunication facilities. Under this project, 8106 km of optical fibre cable is being installed at the union level, backbone router and DC power system are being installed in the union and pop room renovation work are underway.
Bangladesh Cable Shilpa Ltd, Khulna a state-owned company, has procured 8106 km of optical fibre cable and 5,000 km of duct pipes. As of January 2022, according to the internal data of the project, the work of Pop Room Renovation is about 51.28% and the work of laying Optical Fiber Cable is about 40.22%.