State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim yesterday said they will amend the existing telecom act in line with the newly approved national telecom policy, to achieve the targets fixed by the cabinet.

The ministry will shortly take initiatives to amend the telecom act, which was passed in parliament in 2001 and later amended in 2010, said Tarana.

"We need to revisit the telecom act as it is the demand of the time. After passing the telecommunication policy, we need the support of the telecom act to achieve the targets," she said.

This law is related to technology, which is evolving every day, Tarana added.

In the newly adopted policy, the government wants to achieve 100 percent teledensity by 2021, which is now 80 percent.

At the same time, the telecom division is working to achieve 45 percent internet penetration over the next three years and 65 percent by 2021 -- from 27 percent at present.

The long-term target is to achieve 90 percent internet penetration.

There are also plans to raise the fixed broadband internet usage from an existing 7 percent to 20 percent in the short-term and to 40 percent by 2021.

By 2025, the policy aims to raise fixed broadband internet usage to 60 percent.

There are some segments where the telecom division cannot succeed alone, Tarana said. It needs support from other ministries and private operators as well.

The government also aims to ensure wireless broadband connections at the upazila level by 2018, according to the policy.

By 2021, it wants to establish 20 percent fibre optic cable connectivity and 50 percent by 2025.

Telecom operators have welcomed the policy and said the government now needs to move fast and implement the policy immediately.

Earlier, different stakeholders including Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission also proposed to amend the act as there is some confusion regarding it.