Tech
Sharing Lives through Digital connectivity
By Abdul Wahed Saif
Digital transformation has been one of the buzzwords of the past few decades that comes with an array of futuristic offerings, subject to uses and interpretation. It has now become an integral chapter in the process of how we have evolved as a superior social entity, enhancing the modalities of our communication and connectivity through the manifold tools in the digital ecosystem.
Social media, for instance, has seen its colors massively transform over the period of time, as industry leaders like Facebook opted to restructure into ‘Meta’, addressing the forthcoming trends of interconnectivity among all digital communication channels. Instant messaging platforms like imo and others are also consistently opting for innovation, because it is perhaps the only way to sustain in the global netizens’ mood for ‘something new’. Sharing lives – in layman’s terms – has never been so effective and efficient, credit to the collective growth of the tech-based sectors like internet and telecommunication.
Believe it or not, this global digital transformation is the very underlying reason why we are also witnessing a major paradigm shift in terms of television or small-screen entertainment. Netflix and other popular OTTs have taken over the traditional form of media – and this trend only seems to gain more and more fuel – eventually causing the ripple effect all over the pool of the consumers. Even social media and other digital communication platforms, i.e: imo, Facebook etc., are now gaining more and more access to the common people’s lives, as it offers better and better mileages for digital connectivity. The substantial development of the telecommunication and internet sector over the past decade has been the key driver behind attaining such mileage.
As the country eyes a “Digital Bangladesh”, BTRC reports from January 2021 attest to the prospects, stating of near 113 million internet subscribers in the country. Another report from April, 2021, shows that the number of internet users in Bangladesh increased by 7.7 million between 2020 and 2021, with the addition of 9 million new users into social media. Overall, we are witnessing significant investments being made in regards of network expansion, tower establishment and increasing ICT awareness – all indicating to a greater inclination towards digital ecosystem for the mass.
In Bangladesh, brands like Grameenphone, Huawei, Daraz and other tech-domain leaders, along with popular communication platforms like imo have been outlining their business archetypes in view of this altering reality. And their contributions are eventually helping the users to be more productive with their times, helping the societies to progress further through resourceful competency.\
The impact of digital connected preparedness is already visible around us, as now users from even the fringes and peripheries of the society are also sharing the colors of their lives through connectivity. It no longer seems alien to us when we see a farmer making a video-call through imo to check on his son studying in the capital city, or a garments worker woman sending money through mobile financial services to support her parents in the village. Bangladesh earns a significant amount of remittance from the workers abroad. The formidable digital ecosystem is fueling the workers abroad to carry on with their hard works as they remain thousands of miles away from their dear ones, solely through cost-efficient audio-video calls using internet. These are the very impacts of connectivity – undeniable and uncompromisable.But there are still many stones left unturned. Bangladesh, a nation with one of the most promising growth trajectories and flourishing GDP trends, can still look to improve the digital experiences for its citizens and netizens. Stability is one area where our internet services are still behind, compared to the neighboring countries. Bandwidth prices can also be optimized for ensuring further cost-efficiency, which shall eventually lead to more internet user-engagement. It came as a very optimistic message, when the Bangladesh government set its objective of undertaking a BDT 5883 crore project aiming digital connectivity. This kind of investments create newer hopes in the country’s tech horizon, especially for prospective brands like imo, who are operating within the horizon as trusted companions for mass digital connectivity. It is high time we recognized the reality that the more we invest after technology, especially communication technology, the further we advance in terms of productivity, efficiency and ease of connectivity – interpreted otherwise as ease of life.
Tech
Apple to spend $30 billion on Broadcom chips as it boosts US sourcing
Apple , opens new tab plans to spend more than $30 billion under a multi-year chip supply deal with Broadcom, bolstering its U.S. sourcing as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes to expand domestic chip manufacturing.
Broadcom shares rose more than 4%, while Apple shares were down marginally.
Apple said on Wednesday the deal, which was struck earlier this week and runs through 2031, covers FBAR filters – or radio-frequency chips used for wireless connectivity in its devices – that it had been developing with Broadcom since at least 2023.
Broadcom will invest $1.5 billion to expand its Fort Collins, Colorado, factory under the deal, which Apple said would result in the production of at least 15 billion chips and support its work with the Trump administration to source more components domestically.
“The cutting-edge components built in Fort Collins are essential to delivering the incredible performance and connectivity our customers expect, and we’re proud to deepen our investments in U.S.-based suppliers that share our commitment to excellence and innovation,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
“We’re grateful to the president and his administration for supporting important projects like this.”
In August 2025, Apple raised its U.S. investment commitment to $600 billion over four years, adding $100 billion to a previously announced spending plan.
China
China plans to let top AI firms buy limited Nvidia H200 chips, the Information reports
China is planning to allow the country’s top AI companies to buy a limited number of Nvidia’s, opens new tab H200 chips, the Information reported on Wednesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Chinese officials have told Alibaba, opens new tab, ByteDance and DeepSeek in recent weeks that they may soon receive permission to buy some H200 chips, the report said.
Shares of Nvidia rose 1% after the report.
The chip giant did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, nor did the U.S. commerce department, which oversees exports of advanced AI chips overseas.
China’s commerce ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek did not respond outside of regular business hours.
The U.S. government has allowed Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 chips to China, and licensed about 10 Chinese firms to buy the chips. However, Chinese officials, keen to nurture domestic suppliers, have withheld approval so far.
Reuters reported in March that Nvidia had won Beijing’s approval to sell the chips to China, citing sources, and around the same time, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also told CNBC that the company had clearance from China.
Beijing is still determining the exact number of Nvidia chips to approve, and it could amount to fewer than 200,000 in total, the Information said, adding that was less than half of what the companies requested earlier this year.
Last month, Reuters exclusively reported that Nvidia told Chinese clients its new “Vera” central processors for AI data centres could be available as soon as August and that they can begin placing orders.
Nvidia’s market share in China has effectively fallen to zero, Huang said in October, hurt by U.S. export controls and Beijing’s push for self-reliance in key technologies.
The potential shift in China’s stance underscores the growing computing capacity crunch that the country’s tech companies are facing.
Tech
Australia’s under-16 social media ban fails first age check hurdle, study finds
A team of software testers found that Australian social media platforms did not request age proof for any of 50 accounts that declared themselves to be 16, a result that leaves the country’s world-first under-16 ban “ineffective” at the most basic screening stage, according to a study seen by Reuters.
Since December, platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube have been required to bar people under 16 and take “reasonable steps” to verify age, with regulators recommending multiple layered checks. But the new research, conducted by those who advised the nationwide curb, shows that the initial vetting step, which estimates a user’s age from general online activity, is failing to flag young people for tougher verification.
The testers, who last year trialled age-assurance software on more than 1,000 Australians, opened 50 new accounts after the law took effect and set the age as 16. None of the platforms asked for additional proof, the researchers told Reuters. The findings highlight a flaw that has been largely overlooked while public debate has focused on photo-based age-estimation tools.
The ban’s rollout has been widely criticised after surveys indicated that most under-16s still access the platforms. The government last month doubled the maximum fine and warned of possible court action against tech giants, accusing them of setting the system up to fail. Platforms have countered that they are simply following the regulator’s guidance, which prioritises low-friction checks and prevents reliance on government ID alone due to privacy concerns.
Some advisers to the original trial said they had repeatedly warned that the testing process ignored real-world circumvention, including minors entering false birthdates. “We did want to talk about circumvention, but we kept on being told that that wasn’t part of the actual trial,” Colm Gannon of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children told Reuters. A youth digital rights academic involved in a longer-term study of the ban said more impressive results might emerge once platforms move to age-inference methods later in the year. The regulator maintains that the recommended layered approach, if implemented correctly, ensures no single point of failure.
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