Will Bangladeshi phone users integrate well into IoT?

[Black_cats]

Will Bangladeshi phone users integrate well into IoT?
Kamal Hossain and Saffat Rahman Khan | Published: May 02, 2018 20:40:18

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/...hone-users-integrate-well-into-iot-1525272018

Since the first public floatation of World Wide Web (WWW) in August 1991, thanks to Tim Berners-Lee - the inventor, the world has seen many innovative solutions to issues in our daily lives through internet-based services. After the inception of 3G network in Bangladesh in October 2014, there has been a growth of internet subscription from 44 million in October 2014 to 83.1 million in February 2018, almost double within less than 4 years. This growth of internet subscribers mean that more and more Bangladeshi people are on the internet to find information and entertainment, as well as communicate and shop online! With the introduction of 4G recently, the growth of subscribers and hence the ecommerce industry is expected to surpass the highest sector-based earnings in the country - that of garments sector, within next 5 years, as predicted by Ecommerce Association of Bangladesh. And right now, we are in a position to get the internet of things. Now, what is the Internet of things?

Internet of Things (IoT) is a growing prospect in this dynamic and digital world of ours. IoT is the concept of connecting physical devices such as kitchen appliances, vehicles, fixtures and even heart monitors to the Internet. Since this is a revolutionary feature, more devices will continue to be added to the list. In simple terms, the term IoT is deemed for instruments which are not usually expected to have internet connections. The devices are connected via standalone internet-connected IoT gadget, which can be further controlled from a remote location. A simple example is a light bulb in a living room, which can be switched on and off by a Smartphone app.

IoT has just entered Bangladesh legally. Bangladesh Telecommuni-cation Regulatory Commission (BTRC) issued a directive allowing the IoT to be used for smart buildings, automation industries and various other city services that can aid in the establishment of a smart city. As per the directive, all importers would have to enlist themselves with BTRC and have to collect no-objection certificates before importing any IoT gadget(s) in the country. Furthermore, BTRC also mentioned the nine sectors where IoT is to be predominantly applied - industry automation, smart building, smart grid, water management, waste management, telecare, intelligent transport system, smart agriculture, environment management, smart urban lighting and smart parking.

Many companies in the country have started working on research and development in the area of IoT. Big names like DataSoft Systems Bangladesh Limited has recently set up an intricate state-of-the-art laboratory, while its reach of IoT services go beyond the border of Bangladesh. DataSoft is working on installing IoT in 10,000 homes in Japan, which will cut electricity bills, stated the DataSoft Managing Director Mahboob Zaman. They are also working on integrating IoT into the agriculture industry, more specifically in the fisheries sector. Closely following DataSoft's approaches are Cloudy, KazBD and PlaneterBD, to name a few, who are working on industrial automation as well as smart home gadgets' development. Since the concept of IoT is still a growing phenomenon in the country, more tech firms are likely to enter the fray and bring about a Digital Bangladesh having smart cities that the government craves for.

Apart from the IT industry, knowledge creators such as Bangladesh Innovation Forum has delved into this new prospect and maintained a close link through organizing seminars on IoT, as they did in May last year. The Digital World 2017 conference in December was another milestone that showcased the potential of IoT in this country. The responses in these events, especially from youths of the country, have been promising. However, IoT becomes feasible in our daily lives through the integration of IoT devices controlled by only portable devices like Smart-phones.

Currently, mobile phone subscriptions in the country have exceeded the staggering figure of 148 million, but Feature-phones still dominate with a share of 65%, while Smart-phones account for only 35%. Although half of the country's population has started accessing the internet, mass acceptance of Smart-phones by a majority of the country's population is still needed for IoT to flourish. But a minimum amount of around 3,000 BDT is required to purchase one. That does not seem feasible for many millions in the country, even with stable imports of smartphones in 2017 as stated by Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers' Association (BMPIA).

There are new hopes of enhancing connectivity through 4G, which is a key requirement for the success of IoT. Whether the speed technology wins the minds and hearts of the mobile phone users, especially their pockets, and propels the purchases of IoT devices and their integration in the daily lives of people is however something yet to be seen, researched or investigated.

Kamal Hossain is a Senior Lecturer at the Business School of BRAC University;

kamal.hossain@bracu.ac.bd.

Saffat Rahman Khan is a BBA student at BRAC University.

 

[Skies]

IoT technology is now one step further with blockchain based technology.

For example: India's Nuclear Vision technology.

 

[Black_cats]

IoT technology is now one step further with blockchain based technology.

For example: India's Nuclear Vision technology.

Bangladesh should think of integrating blockchain in banking, land registry and other places where there are chances of forgery.

 

[Skies]

Bangladesh should think of integrating blockchain in banking, land registry and other places where there are chances of forgery.

I think BD should come with digital version of Taka (crypto currency/eTaka) backed by Bangladesh Bank with mobile wallet.

The eTaka will be also traceable and easily taxable.

In this way, the business of high-fee BKash and others will finish which will be good for common people.

 

[Black_cats]

Blockchain, AI to reshape financial landscape of Bangladesh
FE Online Desk | Published: February 02, 2018 12:31:18 | Updated: February 04, 2018 11:34:11

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/...-financial-landscape-of-bangladesh-1517553078

eGeneration Ltd., one of the top IT consulting and software companies in Bangladesh, recently organised a roundtable on blockchain technology and artificial intelligence for the financial sector, said a statement.



The roundtable titled "Blockchain and AI: Game Changer in Financial Services" was co-organised by CTO Forum and Information Security Alliance. The expediency of blockchain and AI and how these technologies can be applied in local financial sector to bring groundbreaking advancements were discussed at the roundtable held at the BASIS boardroom in Kawran Bazar of the capital.



The roundtable was chaired by Chairman of eGeneration Group Mr. Shameem Ahsan. President of CTO Forum Tapan Kanti Sarkar; Executive Vice Chairman of eGeneration Group SM Ashraful Islam; Director; Vice President of CTO Forum Debdulal Roy; Secretary General of CTO Forum, Dr. Ijazul Haque; Joint Secretary General of CTO Forum & IT Manager of a2i, PMO, Arfe Elahi Manik; ICT expert, Mr. Musfique Ahmed, Head of IT of Meghna Bank Ltd., Mr. Abul Kashem Mohammad Nazmul Karim; Deputy General Manager of IT, Agrani Bank Ltd., Mr. Enamul Mowla; A M Shariar Majumder from ICB Islami Bank Ltd., Head of IT and high officials of various government and private banks were also present at the roundtable.



Shameem Ahsan said, blockchain and AI in fintech have the potential to help developing nations leapfrog to more-developed economies. Locally, eGeneration and few other IT companies have developed expert skills in cutting edge technologies like artificial intelligence, IoT, data analytics, blockchain and cyber security. As financial services in our country are rapidly becoming a technology-driven sector, financial sector remains as one of the largest in our client portfolio. Apart of supporting major local banks, eGeneration is also providing solutions to global clients. We have been working continuously with an aim to transform Bangladesh from low cost service provider towards innovation led solutions provider.



Tapan Kanti Sarkar said, Bangladesh faces daily challenges in this rapidly changing world. Blockchain and AI can play a significant role in eliminating and easing these problems and complications. There are huge possibilities for Bangladesh in global AI market.



"We have immense opportunities to use AI in public health, agriculture, traffic management, national security, production activities and services sector, which we must develop. Blockchain will play a big role in copyright protection. There are opportunities for blockchain in land record management in our country. The fourth industrial revolution will bring a radical change in our lives. If we fail to adopt this change, we will lag behind.



SM Ashraful Islam said, Bangladesh is a densely populated country. A huge demand is being created for skilled human resource in blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics in the global market. By 2020, the global market size of Blockchain will stand at $ 1430 million and the AI market at $ 47 billion. Consequently, soon there will be a lot of manpower demand in these two sectors. Bangladesh should be aiming at developing skills in such technologies.



Musfique Ahmed said, Bangladesh is on the cusp of a new connected age, which is sure to surpass the industrial revolution. Bangladesh is primed to take advantage of youth, curiosity to leapfrog development efforts.



Blockchain is a safe and open method to store data. The process allows to store data in consecutive blocks, like a chain, and the data ownership is secured. The data stored in this method is safer as if anyone wants to manipulate the data, changing data of every single blocks becomes impossible. On the other hand, artificial intelligence is a field of information technology that gives machine the ability to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence.



-rmc//

 

[Skies]

Also need for IoT integrated National ID based blockchain enabled fair election in 2023.

 

[Black_cats]

How about IoT integrated National ID based blockchain enabled fair election in 2023.

Definitely a good idea and also to bring banking in rural areas. Following is a good article.


Paul Bryzek
Blockchain coinciding with iOT has created the biggest transfer of wealth we will observe in our lifetimes.
Feb 26
Blockchain Positioned to Save Bangladesh

Bangladesh is an unregulated developing country with 155M people in an area smaller in land size than the state of New Jersey. As of November 2016, 94% of all transactions in Bangladesh were in cash with 12% of all value transacted through electronic channels. In 2011, the value transferred electronically was $0 and has quickly grown to over $1B per year. According to the report Building Digital Bangladesh, Bangladesh could save $146M annually across 6 major social safety net in the Government to Person space (G2P) by digitizing these transfers. Furthermore, retail payments make up half of all transactions although only 3% are digital.

In 2007, the Bangladeshi Government started the path of updating its electorate roll and soon, it contained biographic and biometric information on 85 million Bangladeshis. Afterward, since they saw that the impact was great, the government decided to create a national ID system and so they issued ID cards. In 2011, they launched IDEA — the Identification System for Enhancing Access to Services project. Every citizen received a unique identifying number (UIN) and a biometric smart ID. By the end of 2017, 100 million Bangladeshis were issued their own smart national identification that should replace the current laminated paper-based cards. The problem with paper-based cards is that those can be forged or replicated, but smart cards protect citizens and agencies from fraud.

Bangladesh National ID Security Flaw

Bangladesh’s National ID database is centralized.
Bangladesh’s initiative to issue national identifications to replace the paper-based cards is certainly a step in the correct direction, as a digital identity is often the 1st fundamental building block in establishing a digital country.

Every smart ID has a 10-digit UIN and 25 different security features that are in three layers in order to prevent forgery. Replication is discarded because personal information are engraved with a laser. So far, 33 agencies signed on to use the ID authentication service which represents progress. The National Board of Revenue uses the NID database to verify the identity of people who are applying for electronic income tax identification numbers, whilst the Department of Immigration and Passports uses is to verify the identity of people whom are applying for a passport. All mobile operators use it to authenticate their user base.

Unfortunately, this national ID system that holds sensitive data for over 100M Bangladesh citizens is centralized and not built with blockchain technology. Neighboring country of India had set up a similar infrastructure with their national identity using a centralized database called Aadhaar. Unfortunately, many people gained illegal access to this centralized identity database, and have exposed the nation’s sensitive data through anonymous handles on the messaging app WhatsApp for a mere 500 ruppees or about $8 USD. This problem could have been avoided if India had followed Estonia or Dubai’s example by creating cryptographic hashes of this data and storing that “digital dust” on a blockchain. Bangladesh looks destined to succom to the same error as India and it is just a matter of time that Bangladesh’s national ID database becomes exposed, unless they can fix the security flaw and implement blockchain in time.

How Blockchain is used by Governments as a form of National Identity
As we discussed in the previous article The Ultimate Newbie Guide to Blockchain and The Ultimate Newbie Guide to…medium.com
How can blockchain be used to give Bangladesh a digital identity?
Distributed ledger technology could be used to create a decentralized, secure, privacy-respecting, and completely user-controlled online identity system that is often called a self-sovereign identity (“SSl”). There are many legal issues and technological challenges that firstly need to be resolved.

A representation of the digital identity in the blockchain
The user starts its journey as a block with its user’s identity attributes (hashed) and the user’s public key, signed with the user’s private key. Other entities like banks or different providers with whom the user has a relationship are represented within the blockchain and have their own sets of hashed attributes and public keys. A user can establish a relationship with these entities by signing the particular hashed attributes that are relevant. A passport office could sign the hashed name, address and photo of the subject if the attribute values asserted by the user match those on record at the Passport Office.

With more established relationships, the confidence in the accuracy of the attributes grows organically. As transactions take place that involve the user, the reputation capital of the identity grows. The confidence in the identity’s accuracy and of the trustworthiness of the person behind it grows based on what they do online, and all that they do online is transparent and visible to anyone via the blockchain, while still preserving their privacy and concealing their identity.

Addressing Bangladesh’s Unbanked

Over 2 Billion people in the world are still unbanked.
With over 155M people in Bangladesh, it is almost incomprehensible that still today over 80% of the country do not have a bank account (Unbanked) and well over 90% are considered Under-Banked. Comparing the financial difficulties experience in the United States pale in comparison to the financial hardships experienced by the people of Bangladesh where the majority of the people live on less than $5 per day. Additionally more than 70% of the population live in rural areas that do not have much access to banks. Big banks have a struggle to justify the ROI in opening up bank branches in the rural, poor areas of Bangladesh where the people simply do not have much money to store in the banks. This creates a bit of a catch 22 situation, where banks are not able to open branches to provide banking access and thus preventing a majority of the country with access to basic banking services. The unbanked represents a market opportunity of about $380B.

Blockchain is perfectly poised to help the unbanked. One of the fundamental problems with providing banking services to the unbanked is the lack of a verifiable digital identity. The lack of a clear identity prevents the banks from executing their Know Your Customer (KYC) practices, thereby preventing banks to justify providing the unbanked access to bank accounts. Blockchain enables the ability for anyone with a simple smart phone to establish an immutable identity on the blockchain from biometric data obtained from the device: fingerprint, selfie, name. This provides a means for those previously without a digital identity to form one from the ease of using a $10 smartphone from the comfort of their home.

With an established digital identity, users can then plug into one of many blockchain services that are focused on providing financial access. One such platform is OmiseGo (OMG) technology which enables peer-peer value exchange and payments using an ethereum based digital wallet platform platform. This platform allows other companies to utilize the services and provides a decentralized exchange on a public blockchain. The goal of OmiseGo is to unbank the banked and to bank the unbanked.

Bangladesh Receptive to Mobile Financial Services

bKash is the dominate leader in MFS for Bangladesh
In 2011, bKash entered in the Bangladesh market to provide a means to electronically transfer money in Bangladesh by users that are not required to have an existing bank account. A bKash account is a virtual storage of money that can be access via a mobile phone. bKash users must meet the requirements of being 18 years or older, be a Bangladesh citizen and having a national ID. By 2013, bKash rapidly grew to 11million accounts and by 2017, over 22% of adults use bKash daily accounting for about 4.5M transactions each day. bKash has paved the way for Bangladesh by focusing on providing small scale, unsecured credit.

Bangladesh is recognized as the global leader in Mobile Financial Services (MFS) platform as mobile money is the lowest cost of transaction in Bangladesh. bKash and other services like Rocket have truly pioneered the path and have changed the economic dynamic of their society where using MFS is now a daily ritual. Bangladesh already has a widespread adoption of mobile phones which already boasts 117M smart phone subscriptions. This has been made possible as the average cost of a smartphone in Bangladesh is $123 which was the lowest out of the 17 developing countries.

The underprivileged people of Bangladesh could finally get a chance to improve their economic status and plug into the global digital economy, an advancement which would benefit the entire country. Furthermore, in just a couple of years, the country could save hundreds of millions of dollars annually with digital transactions and would gain security and prevent fraud within the system. Land title fraud could also be eliminated if the DLT technology expands.

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