DHAKA, April 4, 2024 (BSS) - The first meeting of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry's committee on digitalizing the cable television network was held at the ministry's conference room in Bangladesh Secretariat here today.
 
Convener of the committee and Deputy Secretary (TV-2) of the Ministry Mohammad Shariful Haque presided over the meeting through which the committee started its activities to take opinion from the stakeholders and make recommendations over digitalizing the cable television network, said a press release.
 
Earlier, a 13-member committee headed by Mohammad Shariful Haque was constituted on March 24 at the directives of State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat.
 
Committee members Bangladesh Television Controller/License Manager Md Zulfiqar Rahman Quraishi, Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO) representatives Navidul Haque and Rafid Quader Rivu, BEXIMCO Communication (Akash) Head of Regulatory Affairs Prakash Kanti Dash and Head of Legal Md Imtiaz Rahman, Broadcast Journalist Center (BJC) Member Secretary Shakil Ahmed, Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB) President ABM Saiful Hossain and General Secretary Syed Mosharraf Ali Chanchal, and Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) Md Emdadul Hoque and Secretary General Nazmul Karim Bhuiyan joined the meeting.
 
In the meeting, the concerned people gave their opinions over taking steps to digitalize cable TV network as per the Cable Television Network Management Act 2006 and Cable Television Network Management and Licensing Rules-2010 (Amended-2023).
 
The committee members put special emphasis on the necessity of cable TV digitization to implement the directives of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for building the 'Smart Bangladesh'.
 
In the meeting, the committee members have been asked to submit opinions of their respective organizations over cable television network digitization in written form to the committee by April 20.
 
Based on their opinions, the committee will formulate an integrated recommendation regarding the cable TV network digitization within a short time and submit it to the state minister for information and broadcasting.