To have a complete picture of how much damage the five days' (between 18 and July 23) unforeseen internet shutdown has inflicted on the country's business and economy will, perhaps, take months, maybe years, to assess. But if taken into account the internet blackout's impact on the nation's fledgling tech sector serving some 80 overseas destinations with an annual turnout of US$1.4billon alone, the figure speaks volumes for the loss. The tech businesses' worth is measured not just in terms of the dollars it earns. It is, in fact, the reputation that the sector gains from its international clients through providing dedicated and uninterrupted service over the years that matters. The irony is, such a reputation can be lost as soon as the flow of service breaks down for reasons that may be beyond the tech industry's control. That is because the tech business, when it comes to the provision of online service to foreign clients, in particular, is a dog-eat-dog world. As there are competitors waiting in the neighbouring countries as elsewhere to grab the jobs, the overseas clients will not hesitate a moment to offer them the contracts. So, the reputational damage that over 4,500 local tech startups suffered during the five-day internet blackout may not be recovered in years.
It has been a body blow for the country's tech sector that employs some 750,000 IT professionals and whose turnout is estimated to reach US$5.0 billion by 2025. However, the country's tech sector is not entirely about the companies with big or small setups that sometimes hit the headlines. There are also the mostly nameless freelancers, who work online to earn their keep through temporary arrangements with overseas clients. This online freelancers' community has also been badly hurt. According to reports, about 0.6 million local freelancers are registered with freelancing websites to serve their international clients.The payments to be made by the foreign clients against the work performed by the local freelancers depend, as in every kind of contract job, on meeting set deadlines. The communication between the online gig workers and their clients takes place through the embedded messaging service maintained with freelancing platforms.
The dislocation of the internet service would send a wrong message to foreign clients about the dependability of Bangladeshi service providers in the freelancing sector. Unlike other employees in the tech sector, the online freelancers have to work hard for months, even years, through the virtual marketplaces to gain the trust of potential clients.The services the freelancers deliver to their overseas clients is rated by the virtual job platforms' algorithms.Obviously, their clients strike deals with freelancers based on their ratings with the virtual platforms. As reported by this paper in its Wednesday issue, the chairperson of the Bangladesh Freelancers Development Society (BFDS), for instance, expressed her fear about the possible fall in the local freelancers' ratings with the different virtual marketplaces as a fallout from the internet shutdown.Worse, many freelancers may have already lost their foreign clients forever, while others are fighting tooth and nail to preserve their contracts. Also, this will discourage would-be freelances in a virtual marketplace where Bangladeshi freelancing's rating has received an unexpected jolt.
Even though the internet service has been gradually restored, the damage meanwhile done to the reputation of many freelancers might never be recovered. So, to avoid further damage, the government's responsibility from now on will be to ensure that the internet service is provided unfailingly across the country under any circumstances in the future.
