Leading IT experts yesterday called for mobile applications that would streamline different services provided by the government offices for ease of access.
“The developers should look to designing applications for various public services,” said Nazrul Islam Khan, secretary of the information and communication technology ministry.
“We also have plans to develop a local app store to ensure ICT services for the people,” he said, adding that the country has great potential to generate interesting contents for smartphone users.
Khan’s comments came at a conference titled “Apps Development: Contents” organised by the ICT ministry at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.
But before that can happen, a platform needs to be put in place that financially rewards the developer for coming up with apps, Syed Mahmudul Hasan, marketing lead of Nokia, said.
“As things stand, a developer gets no benefit when his/her app is downloaded, which is holding back the local app market from flourishing.”
SM Ashraf Abir, chief executive officer of Multimedia Content and Communication, too called for benefits for the owners of the contents, while urging the government to introduce a billing solution to ensure payment for the app developers.
“After discussions with Google, Nokia and Microsoft we will request the Bangladesh Bank to approve a billing solution,” the ICT secretary said in response.
“When we can generate more content in the local market, tech giants like Google and Yahoo! would be drawn towards Bangladesh,” said Kazi Monirul Kabir, country consultant of Google.
Rajesh Palit, an associate professor at North South University, recommended setting up mobile labs in universities and providing scholarships, to develop the local industry.
“Sales of traditional PCs will drop by 7.6 percent in 2013, while mobile devices will exceed world population by 2014,” he said, adding that tablet sales would rise 70 percent and smartphone 4.3 percent this year.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak, a member of the parliamentary standing committee on the ICT ministry, said the country would be left behind if it does not fully adopt the ICT. “Now is the time to board on an ICT-based economy.”
Source: The Daily Star