The country is going to be connected with a third submarine cable, from where it will receive 10 terabytes (TB), said officials. Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) sources said the government is going to sign an agreement at a joint international consortium programme in April this year.
At present, BSCCL officials are attending a meeting in Singapore for further assessment. BSCCL sources are hopeful that the third submarine cable would play a vital role in facilitating the growth of 5G (Fifth Generation) internet service across the country. “The country will get the third fiber cable facilities from June 2023, to meet the rapidly growing data consumption demand till 2030,” said an official of telecommunications ministry on condition of anonymity.
He said the country has already become a member of the newly formed South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6) consortium. The consortium is a proposed optical fiber submarine communications cable system establishing telecommunications between Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe.
Through the third submarine cable, the country will get a total of 10 terabytes bandwidth, at a cost of $70 to $ 73 million, from Singapore and France via Cox’s Bazar landing station. Sources concerned said the mainline would be 1850 kilometers away from the Cox’s Bazar landing station. A Tk 690 crore would be spent to construct the connecting line between the landing station and the mainline.
Posts and telecommunications minister Mustfa Jabbar said, “The third submarine cable will be a blessing for the country. The country will sign the agreement in April next at an international consortium. With this connection, we will be able to meet our growing internet demand up to 2030”.
According to government statistics, the country is now using 1400 GBPS bandwidth. Of the total, the first submarine cable is providing 400 GBPS, the second one is providing 700 GBPS while international terrestrial cable company is importing 300 GBPS.