Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam spoke at the ICT Division Conference Room in Dhaka today. Photo : BSS

DHAKA, Sept 3, 2026 (BSS) - Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam today said the government plans to upgrade more than 9,000 post offices across the country to modernise postal services and bring them to people's doorsteps.

He made the remarks at a press conference held at the ICT Division Conference Room marking 180 days of the BNP government.

Faqir Mahbub Anam, also Science and Technology Minister, said the government plans to modernise the postal service and explore ways to update it in line with international practices to provide services at people's doorsteps, noting that people have confidence in government-run postal services.

"We want to upgrade these 9,000-plus post offices in Bangladesh," he said.

The minister said the government was already moving forward with joint ventures, investment and technology support from some Chinese postal companies to further improve the postal service.

He said 10 postal franchises had already been inaugurated and the number would be increased in the future.

The minister said e-commerce activities from collection and storage of products to processing, booking, sorting and distribution had been launched through 14 fulfillment centres across the country.

He said around 90 percent progress had been made in modernising postal processing and logistics services through monitoring software.

"One of the major priorities in the coming days will be to further strengthen Bangladesh's digital connectivity," he said.

He said round 350 tonnes of mangoes were parcelled through the postal service during the last mango season, including shipments sent abroad.

While speaking on the works in telecommunications sector, he said free Wi-Fi had already been provided through BTCL at eight airports and six railway stations.

At the same time, free Wi-Fi had been made available on intercity trains with the assistance of a satellite company, while BTRC's experimental high-speed internet service had also been launched on “Pink Bus”.

He said the capacity of GPON broadband fixed-line internet of BTCL had also been increased.

The minister said low-cost data packages had been launched for students and freelancers, while higher-speed internet connections had been provided to educational institutions.

He said importance was being given to improving service quality of the state-owned mobile operator. So far, 5,000 kilometres of drive tests had been completed and 300 new sites had been launched. Modern technologies such as Voice over Wi-Fi and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) had also been introduced on a trial basis, he added.

"Our goal now is to ensure better networks, uninterrupted connectivity and improved services for customers," he said.

At the same time, internet services were being provided to 100 schools in the Chittagong Hill Tracts through LEO satellites.

The minister also said a pilot programme had begun to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) into BTRC's customer complaint resolution system.

Regarding new subsea cable for international bandwidth, the minister said equipment installation and installation testing had been completed at the Cox's Bazar landing station under the Third Submarine Cable Project.