Newspaper cutting

The inauguration of the first Bangladesh-assembled

laptop, called Doel, in October by the Prime Minister

heralded a major step forward in widening access to

ICT across the country. 

At the launch, the Prime Minister highlighted the

various steps the government has taken for the advancement of Bangladesh through launching web portals, setting up e-centres at district levels and withdrawing tax on computers.

Publicly owned Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS)

has been assigned to manufacture the cut-price computers and has so far made 6,000 laptops and netbooks for sale. The product range comprises one laptop and three netbook models. The netbooks are

cheaper and have lower specifications than their laptop counterpart and prices for the Doel computers

range between  (£85-£220),

depending on their configuration. 

A month later, at the opening of the One-Stop Service Centre in Dhaka on November 14, 2011, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon remarked: “Digital

Bangladesh is becoming a reality [...] And that is what

people across Bangladesh can see with their own

eyes.

“Vital services are being provided quickly and affordably. Modern electronic systems have replaced

century-old, heavily bureaucratic manual administrative practices.

“Women have new venues for empowerment. Cutting out middlemen reduces corruption. And instead

of travelling long distances for such services, people in all 64 districts now have, as the slogan so aptly puts it, service at their doorsteps.