Dhaka: Bangabandhu Satellite Project has got the prestigious "Recognition of Excellence" award from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

State Minister for Post and Telecommunications Tarana Halim received the award on be-half of the government at the concluding ceremony of the four-day ITU Telecom World 2016, held Thursday night in Thai capital Bangkok, official sources said in Dhaka on Friday.

Tarana Halim also posted on her Facebook page the image of the award and some images of the award giving ceremony and wrote: "Bangabandhu Satellite got the "Recognition of Excellence" at the ITU Telecom World 2016". 

The ITU in its certificate of award said that it is pleased to recognise Bangabandhu Satellite Launching Project for its excellence in providing and promoting innovative ICT solutions with social impact.

The Bangabandhu-1 Satellite is scheduled to be launched in December 2017.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Dr. Shahjahan Mahmood told BSS that the ITU awarded the Bangabandhu Satellite Project for its prospective impact on socio-economic development of the country.

Last year Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received the "ICT Sustainable Development Award" from the ITU. The premier later dedicated the award to the young people of Bangladesh.

ITU this year also announced six major awards, recognising excellence and innovation in ICT solutions those have impact particularly on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and corporates alike. The winning entries included: Global SME Award - BRCK, Kenya; Host Country SME Award - ServisHero, Thailand; Thematic Award (eGovernment) - Nile Center for Technology Research (NCTR), Sudan;

Thematic Award (eHealth) - Neofect, Republic of Korea; Thematic Award (eEducation) - Academic Bridge, Rwanda and Thematic Award (Disaster Prevention/Recovery Communications) - Mastercard, United States.

ITU is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies. This year the ITU organised the Telecom World 2016 from November 14-17 in Bangkok. 

Some 250 exhibitors, including 107 exhibiting tech-SMEs and 60 partners and sponsors took part in the event. Over 330 leaders from 90 countries joined the debates, including top-level representatives from Hungary and the Republic of Korea - past and future ITU Telecom World host countries.