Wireless link gives Bangladesh agriculture students faster Internet access

["Irfan Khan" <khania2@super.net.pk>]

[from UNDP Newsfront - 21 Jan 2003 http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html 
]


Wireless link gives Bangladesh agriculture students faster Internet 
access

Tuesday, 21 January 2002: Students at the largest agricultural 
university in Bangladesh have fast access to a world of information 
on the Internet, thanks to an initiative under the Sustainable 
Development Networking Programme funded by UNDP, and managed by the 
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies http://www.bids-bd.org/ . 


Until now, the 5,600 students and staff of the Bangladesh 
Agricultural University  http://agri-varsity.tripod.com/ in the 
northern rural region of Mymensingh had only a single modem and an 
unreliable phone line to connect to the Internet -- making it 
difficult to keep abreast of developments in their fields. 

Now they enjoy fast access via a wireless link to the capital, Dhaka, 
more than 100 kilometers away. UNDP provided US$1.4 million for the 
initiative. 

Minister for Environment and Forest Shahjahan Siraj launched the new 
system last week. He praised the project, saying that leading 
agricultural scientists and researchers now had a valuable tool to 
assist them in finding national solutions for national challenges. 
"This is crucial for Bangladesh because the majority of people in 
this country rely on agriculture for their livelihoods," he said. 
Now that students and researchers have access to a plethora of 
information, the university plans to provide low-cost connections to 
local hospitals, schools and non-profit groups as well. There is hope 
that soon isolated farmers will have easy access to the latest market 
and weather information. 

The first Internet connection was established in Bangladesh in 1996. 
The technology has been slow to spread, however, and today it is 
estimated that only one per cent of the population has access to the 
Internet. 

Through the project and with UNDP support, the Government plans to 
establish five wireless connections at educational institutions 
around the country, with low-cost connections also being offered to 
the broader community. 

For further information please contact Lisa Hiller, UNDP Bangladesh, 
or Trygve Olfarnes, UNDP Communications Office.