Internet service providers (ISPs) seek a reviewed tender call dividing Bangladesh into several blocks to let all ISPs join the process of connecting broadband to 41,000 primary schools.
"There must be opportunities for small ISPs to participate in the tender for providing internet connection to schools countrywide," says Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) president Emdadul Haque.
"Option shouldn't be for one ISP connecting all schools, tender should divide the country into blocks so that ISPs individually or under consortium can participate in it…," he told the FE.
Primary and mass education ministry has recently directed the authorities concerned to review the previous tender worth Tk 2.0 billion in the face of protest from ISPs.
The tender stipulated that only mobile phone operators were eligible to participate in the process.
ISPs demand participation of both mobile operators as well as broadband providers in the tender by amending the conditions.
According to the previous tender, a cellular company has already got the work order to provide 20 Mbps data of 5.0 Mbps speed for a month.
However, the ministry cancelled the work order last week and started reviewing the whole process.
Mr Haque says, "Mobile operators cannot provide such internet to schools, but ISPs can provide unlimited broadband data. Still, we want both mobile operators and ISPs participate the tender."
"We don't want to make a profit from this project. We want that our primary schools get quality connection."
The Department of Primary Education called open tenders in November 2021 to provide broadband to 41,000 government primary schools.
After verification and selection, one mobile operator was instructed to provide internet connection through a Wi-Fi system in 39,701 schools in 61 districts, leaving out three hill districts.
In the first phase, the department asked the mobile network operator (MNO) to provide the Wi-Fi system and SIM in the district education primary education office to connect 1,000 schools.
In March, state minister for primary and mass education Md Zakir Hossain inaugurated internet connectivity through Wi-Fi at primary schools.
The MNO was supposed to provide 5.0-Mbps speed connection to each school with data capping at 20 Gbps.
There are 6,830 schools in Dhaka division, 5,944 in Chattogram, 5,110 in Khulna, 3,908 in Barisal, 5,415 in Rajshahi, 5,967 in Rangpur, 3,160 in Sylhet and 3,367 in Mymensingh.
Broadband internet service providers objected to several terms of the tender after tenders were called for the implementation of PEDP-04.
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