locals complained of internet service disruption at and around five km area of the BNP rally venue in Rajshahi city since Saturday morning. Local people said that internet service in Pathanpara, Sipaipara, Laxmipur, Fire Service intersection, Bornali and Nagarbhaban areas of the city has been disrupted since 9:30 am today. Sajal, a local internet service provider worker, said internet services were suspended from the main server. BNP central leader Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu said, “The government is hindering our activities and suspension of internet services is one of them.” Read: Locals complain of slow mobile internet amid BNP rally BNP's divisional rally in Rajshahi began on Saturday morning, with the presence of thousands of leaders and activists of the party and its associate bodies. The rally began around 9:30 am at the city’s Haji Mohammad Mohsin School Ground.

Users in Barishal are complaining of disrupted mobile and broadband internet services in the city since this morning amid the ongoing divisional rally of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Subscribers of telecom operators in the city and BNP activists present at Bangabandhu Park have complained about the disruption in internet services. “I couldn’t send photos of the BNP rally to my office due to mobile internet not functioning since this morning. I had to go to a shop and use broadband internet, which was also slow,” Nurul Amin, a local journalist, said. Broadband connection providers did not respond to the complaints. Read: BNP divisional rally begins at packed Barishal venue Md Adnan, a resident of Kashipur union under Barishal Sadar upazila, said that he too could not use mobile internet since morning. “However, the broadband internet connection in my house is working,” Adnan said.

Ultra-broadband 5.5G will be a key milestone on the path to an intelligent world, David Wang, Huawei's executive director of the board and chairman of the ICT infrastructure managing board, said Thursday. He was speaking at the two-day Ultra-Broadband Forum 2022 which began in Bangkok today. "As we approach the intelligent world of 2030, home broadband speeds will reach 10 Gbit/s, marking a huge improvement over today's 1 Gbit/s experience," David said. "Now homes have an average of 5 to 20 devices connected to their Wi-Fi networks. However, this is set to change as smart home devices see broad adoption, which will drive this number up to 150 to 200. It will therefore be essential that fibre can reach every room of every home." Read: 5.5G: 'The key to building an intelligent world' By 2030, Wi-Fi networks will also be capable of delivering several 10 Gbit/s experiences for mid- and large-sized campuses and will need to support intelligent operations and management, David said. "Micro and small enterprises will need Wi-Fi networks that can deliver large bandwidth, premium experiences, and one-stop intranet services. Industrial Internet will require a bandwidth higher than 10 Gbit/s and latency lower than one millisecond," he added. "Enterprises will adopt a multi-cloud strategy that requires networks to dynamically adjust routing. Driven by green development and automation, we will see 10-fold increases in network capacity, energy efficiency, and O&M efficiency," David said.

Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar today said that robotics, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) will shape the future. The minister said this while attending a policy dialogue on safe use of technology in establishing peace and extending democracy, arranged by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute at a Dhaka hotel. Terming internet connectivity as mandatory for the digital age, Jabbar said that the government has taken up a project to bring the entire country under high speed internet. Read: No more than 15 SIM cards under 1 NID: BTRC to deactivate extras “To face the challenges posed by digital technology, first we need to eliminate digital divide. Everyone has to be digitally competent to enjoy the benefits of the upcoming technology-based world. If you keep your child away from the digital spheres, he/she will lag behind,” said Jabbar. Acknowledging that there are both good and bad sides of digital technology, the minister said that digital technology won’t have adverse impact on the state, society and people if everyone is also aware and cautious of its dark side. “The government has permanently blocked a total of 22,000 porn sites and 6,000 gambling sites. We’ve also achieved great success in removing harmful content from the virtual world through improving our ties with social media giants like Facebook and others. But such progress won’t be of any use if the consumers of digital technologies don’t practice restraint, which can only be done through digital literacy,” added Jabbar. Read Hijab protests: US takes action to increase Iranians’ access to internet The dialogue was presided over by Ambassador Humayun Kabir. Mezbah Uddin, Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Charles Whiteley, Head of Delegations of the European Union (EU), among others, spoke at the event.

The United States is stepping up its support for the free flow of information to the Iranian people, according to Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, as Iranians take to the streets to condemn the killing of Mahsa Amini. After Ebrahim Raisi’s administration blocked internet access for the majority of Iran, US Treasury Department issued licences on Friday to broaden the selection of internet services available to Iranians, Al Arabiya reports. Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian women, was taken into custody last week for “improper hijab” and shortly thereafter went into a coma. She passed away on Friday – sparking protests in Iranian streets and on social media. Read: At least 26 dead from protests in Iran, suggests state TV as violent unrest continues Foreign diplomats based in Tehran and internet monitoring organizations claim that several regions of the nation have blocked or restricted access to the internet, the Al Arabiya report says. US Deputy Secretary of Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, was quoted: “As courageous Iranians take to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, the United States is redoubling its support for the free flow of information to the Iranian people.” He claimed that the US was assisting Iranians in becoming better armed to thwart efforts by the government to restrict them. Read: Protests over hijab: Iranians experience near-total internet blackout The licences, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, will enable IT companies to offer more digital services to Iranians, such as cloud computing services, to enhance their online security and privacy. Following the most recent fatal protests and the death of Mahsa Amini, the US issued sanctions against Iran's morality police and six Iranians on Thursday. Iran Human Rights claims that during the protests, Iranian security forces had killed at least 31 citizens (IHR).

Mobile financial service (MFS) provider Trust Axiata Pay (Tap) has come up with cashback and bonus data offers for its customers on the purchase of Robi and Airtel internet packages and bundles. The cashback campaign offer will continue till August 31. Tap users will get 18GB instead of Airtel's regular 14GB internet package of Tk129 for seven days, and a cashback of Tk9. Read: IBBL Barishal holds Shariah compliance webinar They will get an extra 2GB of data with an 800MB regular internet package for three days at Tk32 with a cashback of Tk3. The Tap 5GB and 150-minute bundle can be availed instead of the previous regular bundle offer of 2GB and 100-minute for three days at Tk158. Customers can get an extra 500MB of data if they buy a 1.5GB package of Robi for three days for Tk57 – the total internet package will be 2GB and there will be a cashback of Tk4. Read BTRC launches new unlimited data packages Upon purchasing a 2GB and 25-minute bundle for seven days at Tk98, they will get 500MB of internet and 50-minute talk time and a cashback of Tk6.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Sunday introduced four new internet packages in a bid to ensure uninterrupted and hassle-free internet for Grameenphone and Teletalk users.Under the unlimited package, Grameenphone is offering 40GB data at Tk1,199 and 15GB data at Tk549 while Teletalk 26GB at Tk309 and 6GB at Tk127, said a press release. Read: 80% of travel market remains unexplored: PalakOther operators will also introduce new unlimited data packages in phases, it added.Earlier on April 28, BTRC launched the highly anticipated unlimited internet data packs without any validity expiration for the first time. Read BTRC receives Tk 2.78 crore fines from three mobile operators

The real-life effects of shutdowns of the internet on people's lives and human rights are vastly underestimated, according to the UN human rights office. When major communication channels and networks are slowed down or blocked, this means thousands, even millions of people are deprived of their only means of reaching loved ones, medical assistance, and participating in political debates or decisions, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) report published Thursday said. "When you see a shutdown happen, it's time to start worrying about human rights," Peggy Hicks, director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division of the OHCHR, said. Shutdowns deepen digital divides between and within countries and are happening in places where there are deteriorating human rights situations, Peggy added. At a time when substantial development aid is directed towards enhancing connectivity in less developed countries, some of the beneficiaries of that assistance are themselves deepening the digital divide through shutdowns. At least 27 of the 46 least developed countries implemented shutdowns between 2016 and 2021 despite receiving support to increase their Internet connectivity, Peggy said. The first major internet shutdown took place in Egypt in 2011, during the Tahrir Square protests that led to hundreds of arrests and killings. Shutdowns can mean a complete block on internet connectivity, but governments also increasingly ban access to major communication platforms and limit bandwidth and mobile services to 2G transfer speeds, making it difficult to share and watch videos or live picture broadcasts. Many states refuse to acknowledge interfering in communications or putting pressure on telecom companies to prevent them from sharing information. The official justification for the shutdowns was unknown in 228 cases reported by civil society across 55 countries. When authorities recognise having ordered disruptions, justifications often point to public safety, containing the spread of hostility or violence, or combating disinformation. Yet, shutdowns often achieve the exact opposite. According to Peggy, "199 shutdowns were justified by public safety concerns, and 150 were based on national security grounds. But many of those shutdowns were followed by spikes in violence." When a state shuts down the internet, both people and economies suffer. The costs to jobs, education, healthcare, and political participation virtually always exceed any hoped-for benefit. "We call on states to stop doing this, stop imposing shutdowns. Shutdowns are simply never the best answer. Their costs are simply too great to economies, democracy, and people's daily lives," Peggy said. Also read: The limits of analog censorship in a digital era

Several years ago, Rajshahi University authorities brought the entire campus under broadband internet coverage with the aim of enhancing students’ learning activities. However, due to the poor speed and quality of the internet connection, students are ending up wasting extra time while accessing internet-based e-library, online tutorials, learning activities and some other online-based activities, as a substantial amount of time is spent on buffering. According to campus sources, 11 academic buildings of the university have been brought under internet coverage for the convenience of online learning activities of the students. The internet connection in these academic buildings is very poor. Sometimes it becomes very difficult to connect on students’ smartphones. As a result, the students are not getting much benefit from the internet connection in these academic buildings. Read: Rajshahi University dormitories reopen after 18 months The authorities also provided three or four WiFi router connections on each floor in the residential halls so that the students can get internet service in their rooms. But the capacity of the routers is less than the requisite.  Unless they’re in the rooms closest to the router, they are hardly able to get a connection worth surfing the net. According to the ICT center of the university, the speed of the central server of the university is 2.80 Gbps. The connection is supplied through various routers on campus. However, students are complaining that they get Mbps connection very early in the morning. For the rest of the day, the speed is only a few kilobytes. The students said that they have to get involved in various online activities like meetings, seminars, workshops, online courses etc. In most cases, they have to buy their own data packs to participate in those programs as the wifi connection is simply not good enough to allow them to participate in those activities. A residential student of Syed Amir Hall of the university said that the internet speed in the hall is “slower than a tortoise”. The connection is not good at all due to poor routers. Even if we have to pay for the internet, we are not getting quality service. Read: Fire spreads panic in CCU patients at Barishal hospital; 1 dies of heart attack Nazmus Sakib Zihad, a residential student of Madar Bux Hall said, “As soon as we connect the internet, buffering starts. Apart from that, the wifi disconnects. So, I have to buy data packs to do academic activities.” In this regard, Babul Islam, the director of the ICT Centre of the university, said the speed of more than 100 megabytes is often provided from the central server. But the speed gets slower when many devices are connected to the routers. “We are planning to make internet rooms for different halls and floors, including the ‘Gonoroom’ of the student’s hall,” Babul said.

Two- day Bangladesh Youth Internet Governance Forum (YIGF) will kick-off on Friday. It will be held through virtual platform due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. The program will start at 3:00 pm and end at 6:00 pm every day, according to a press release. Read: Two thirds of world's school-age children have no internet Youth Internet Governance Forum (YIGF) Bangladesh is an initiative under the umbrella of the Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum (BIGF) in conjunction with the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (UNIGF). It is a multi-stakeholder, youth, and youth women-led platform to engage in Internet governance-related issues.   Prominent experts in the tech industry and from the Internet Governance community will address the participants in this program on Youth IGF Bangladesh Influencer Hunt & Youth Ambassador Activity 2021, Youth Internet Governance, Social Media Against Humanity, Internet Addiction of Children and Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19 in Bangladesh: Causes, Effects, Side Effects, and Way Forward, Youth Entrepreneur-Domain Name Registration Process and Security, Empowering youth: Big Data & IoT, Conundrum of Cyber Value-system and Malpractices, OTT (Over the Top) & Digital Content Monetization, Regional & Local Participation in Internet Governance (IG), Government Opportunity For Youth: Training & Grants, etc. Read: Youthful crusade for a safe cyberspace Stakeholders from the government, civil society, private, technical community, academia, youth, and media will participate in the Youth Internet Governance virtually (Zoom platform).