Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology

ministry · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

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Head: Fakir Mahbub Anam Swapan
Role: Minister
Annual budget: —
Staff: —
Established: 1971
Legal basis: Constitution of Bangladesh, Article 55; Rules of Business 1996; Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act 2001; Telegraph Act 1985

Executing a dual-portfolio mandate across Posts/Telecom/ICT and Science/Technology; driving 700 MHz spectrum allocation (Grameenphone via auction, Teletalk via directive), implementing 'One Nation, One Rate' broadband tariff, finalising National AI Policy 2026-2030, and targeting one million ICT jobs by 2031 via AI, semiconductor, and export incentives.

Recent activity

2026-02-17 appointment Fakir Mahbub Anam Swapan (BNP, Tangail-1) sworn in as Minister with dual portfolio: Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and ICT plus Ministry of Science and Technology, under PM Tarique Rahman's cabinet. ↗↗↗
2026-01-14 regulation BTRC conducted Bangladesh's first-ever 700 MHz spectrum auction; Grameenphone was the sole buyer, securing 10 MHz at the reserve price of Tk 237 crore per MHz (Tk 2,370 crore total, 15-year tenure). Robi, Banglalink, and Teletalk did not participate. ↗↗↗
2026-04-24 regulation Ministry directed BTRC to allocate 10 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum to state-owned Teletalk via administrative directive at the same Tk 237 crore per MHz rate, bypassing auction, despite Teletalk carrying approximately Tk 5,500 crore in unpaid spectrum dues. Move drew criticism from private operators over regulatory consistency. ↗↗
2026-04-27 regulation BTRC issued new broadband tariff notification implementing the 'One Nation, One Rate' policy: maximum monthly bill set at Tk 500 for 30 Mbps, Tk 1,000 for 100 Mbps, and Tk 3,000 for 250 Mbps; ISPs required to refund 50% of bill if service is disconnected for five consecutive days and 75% if disconnected for ten days. ↗↗
2026-03-01 statement Minister stated ICT sector will generate 10 lakh (one million) jobs in five years, with government focus on AI, hardware, semiconductors, software, BPO, data centres, and digital services for export-led ICT growth. ↗↗
2026-03-15 reform Government recommended 10-15 year tax holidays, duty-free imports, special bonded warehouse facilities, fast-track customs clearance, and 5-10% export cash incentives specifically to develop Bangladesh's nascent semiconductor sector. ↗↗
2026-02-09 policy ICT Division published National AI Policy 2026-2030 Draft v2: risk-based regulatory framework, prohibition on mass surveillance and social scoring, mandatory algorithmic impact assessments for high-risk systems, and directive to draft a comprehensive AI Act by 2028. ↗↗
2026-02-25 statement Minister told parliament that government has taken comprehensive measures to improve internet quality in rural and underserved areas; BTRC's revised QoS framework raised minimum 4G download speed requirement to 10 Mbps (from 7 Mbps set in 2018), covering mobile operators, NTTN operators, and ISPs for the first time. ↗↗

Provenance & notes

Minister holds a dual portfolio: (1) Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology (covering Posts and Telecommunications Division, ICT Division, BTRC, Bangladesh Post Office, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd, Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd) and (2) Ministry of Science and Technology -- both under a single cabinet minister, consistent with BNP election manifesto. The ministry website mopt.gov.bd is the umbrella; operating divisions have separate portals at ptd.gov.bd and ictd.gov.bd. The Nagad forensic audit (initiated November 2024 by Bangladesh Bank under the interim government) is a Bangladesh Bank-led matter, not a MOPT action; it concerns Nagad's status as a Bangladesh Post Office subsidiary and MFS licence regularisation -- MOPT has indirect institutional interest as Bangladesh Post Office falls under Posts and Telecommunications Division. ICT export actual FY2024-25 ($724.6 million) was verified against TBS reporting; no claim made about specific NBR-Nagad tax audit, as no primary source confirmed such an action within the 90-day window. annual_budget_bdt set to null as no ministry-specific budget allocation figure was retrievable from FY2025-26 documents; the broader Transport and Communication sector ADP allocation (Tk 58,973 crore) is not disaggregated by ministry. Verification based on 2+ primary sources for all key claims.

Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology

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