Industry
Regulate digital platforms with strategy, not reflex
Bangladesh needs stronger data governance and OTT regulation, but not through disruption or disproportionate compliance burdens. A sequenced, market-aware approach combining digital literacy, smarter enforcement, and competitive local infrastructure can protect citizens while preserving exports, entrepreneurship and economic resilience.
Three mobile operators make Tk4,000crore hitting pockets of customers!
During the preceding interim government, on January 12, 2025, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission made a decision that permitted mobile operators to offer data packages. This implies that mobile operators will have the autonomy to design their own packages and market them to consumers. As a result of this decision, mobile operators are enabled to provide data packages of varying durations and volumes, ranging from one hour to unlimited access. An investigation by Views Bangladesh has revealed that, by leveraging this opportunity, three foreign-owned mobile operators have accrued an additional approximate revenue of Tk4,000 crore from customers throughout 2025 by strategically pricing their packages. In contrast, the domestic operator Teletalk has refrained from employing this strategy for generating extra income. Furthermore, mobile operators are also seizing the chance to charge a minimum of 45 paisa and a maximum of Tk2 per minute for voice calls. While no other country in the world has a floor price for voice calls, Bangladesh stands out as the only nation where the regulatory authority has permitted mobile operators to impose higher charges for voice calls on customers rather than fostering competition.
Bangladesh’s garment industry at risk?
Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry has long been a key driving force of the country’s economy. Duty-free access to the European Union market has particularly helped the sector build a strong position in the global market. However, the recently announced free trade agreement between the EU and India has created major concerns for Bangladesh. Analysts and industry insiders believe that once the deal comes into effect, Bangladesh’s competitive position in the European market may face serious challenges.
Taiwan crisis: Battle cries at heart of silicon industry
It was July 2021. The world was in the throes of a severe chip crisis. At such a time, an analyst asked Mark Liu, chairman of TSMC, the center of the technology world, a strange question: "Aren't your customers worried when China threatens war with Taiwan?"
From Corona pandemic to geopolitical challenges
In early 2021, the then-US President Joe Biden called a special Zoom meeting at the White House. Addressing nineteen CEOs of the world's largest technology and manufacturing companies, he held up a twelve-inch-long silicon wafer. He said that unless America invested 'big and bold', it would fall behind in global competition. So 'we have to play the game harder'.
Will the smartphone market remain hostage to smugglers?
Identified smugglers in the mobile handset market are holding the regulatory authority's headquarters hostage under the guise of a blockade, creating a standstill. By blocking roads and causing extreme suffering to hundreds of citizens, they are demanding the continuation of unrestricted opportunities for smuggling! Bangladesh is truly a strange place. This is probably a world record! In no other country besides Bangladesh have a group of smugglers dared to implement such so-called programs of gathering on the streets and paralyzing public life.
China-US chip battle: When buyer becomes competitor
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was then the chairman of the Semiconductor Industry Association (2015). Naturally, he regularly traveled to Washington, where he made the usual business demands such as tax cuts or loosening regulations. But that year he stopped asking for business benefits, saying directly, “The way China is rushing to take over our chip industry is dangerous for America. We need to take action now.”
The rise of Huawei
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei may seem like a quiet Silicon Valley executive at first glance. But his company's global influence is far greater than that simple appearance suggests. The mobile networks of countless countries around the world - which carry our daily voice calls, messages, and data - rely on Huawei equipment. In many places, it is almost impossible to get mobile phone service without using Huawei's network.
China's chip war: From Xi Jinping's call to technology transfer
When Chinese President Xi Jinping stood before world leaders on the stage of Davos in Switzerland in 2017, his voice was filled with a message of peace. While newly elected Donald Trump was calling for 'America First', Xi spoke of 'mutual benefit' in global trade - the media gave him the title of 'protector of globalization'. But behind that seemingly calm and generous declaration, a different plan was going on inside.
How Intel forgot innovation?
For decades, Intel was the undisputed leader in the semiconductor world, a symbol of American technological prowess. The microprocessors they invented, along with the famous x86 architecture, were the lifeblood of everything from PCs to data centers.