The government will soon open registration for .bangla and .bd domains to the public, announced Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and ICT.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Taiyeb revealed that while the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) will retain domain registry rights, reseller access will be introduced for the first time.
The development of an API system to support this process is currently underway, he added.
Taiyeb criticised the slow progress of domain hosting in the country, stating that while millions of .bangla and .bd domains were expected to be hosted, only about 45,000 websites are currently active. Around 37,000 of these belong to government entities using .gov, .bangla, and .bd extensions, leaving private sector usage negligible.
He attributed the slow growth to inefficiencies under the previous Awami League government, which “halted progress”.
The slow pace has led to a drain of foreign currency, Taiyeb said, as many Bangladeshis are forced to purchase domain names and hosting services from international markets instead of local providers.
Taiyeb also outlined plans to expand domain offerings.
He said that .gov domain registration will soon be made available for government and autonomous bodies upon verification, and there are plans to launch the .edu.bd domain for recognized educational institutions.
Furthermore, plans are underway to provide reseller access for .com.bd domains, allowing private entities to manage domain registration and hosting locally.
Taiyeb added that discussions with BTRC and BTCL are ongoing regarding extended domain names like .org.bd and others, with further announcements to follow.
Social media users expressed frustration with the domain registration process, particularly the excessive documentation required.
Facebook user Noor Hossain said that trade licenses were unnecessarily required, but applications were often rejected despite all submissions.
Mahmudur Rahman, in a comment on Taiyeb’s Facebook post, described the .bd domain as plagued by corruption, alleging that bribes were necessary to activate it.
He emphasized that BTCL should have automated the system and introduced resellers as early as 2015.
Mashrur Rahman in his Facebook comment raised the question of why Bangladesh uses .com.bd instead of a direct .bd domain, similar to Canada’s use of .ca. He suggested adopting a .bangladesh domain to simplify web navigation.
