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Published : 10 Sep 2017, 01:19 PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launched the station’s operations in a videoconference from the Ganabhaban on Sunday.
Bangladesh will receive 1,500 gigabits per second or Gbps of bandwidth from the Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe International Consortium Submarine Cable (SEA-ME-WE-5) through the new landing station in Kalapara Upazila.
The government hopes that the boost will prevent telecom companies from buying bandwidth from foreign entities.
The Awami League government had decided to connect a second submarine cable after it became apparent that the first would not meet the needs of people, the prime minister said.
“Today I am honoured to inaugurate this project,” she said.
Hasina blamed the BNP for dismissing the opportunity to connect Bangladesh to the submarine cable free of cost in the nineties, a time when the current opposition party was in power.
State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim and Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Telecommunication Ministry Imran Ahmad were also present at the inaugural event at the Ganabhaban.
Bangladesh was connected to the first submarine cable, SEA-ME-WE-4, in 2005, through which it receives up to 200 Gbps of bandwidth.
Besides SEA-ME-WE-4, the country is also connected to six alternative submarine cables.
Bangladesh was connected to the SEA-ME-WE-5 Consortium cable onFeb 21 this year.
The country currently uses more than 400 Gbps of internet. State-run BSCCL provides 12 Gbps while the rest is imported from India.
The estimated cost of the second submarine cable is Tk 6.6 billion. It is expected to be operational for 20-25 years.
The new cable will help provide internet services if there are technical problems with the older one, officials say.
It will also make it easier to provide low-cost high-speed internet to people in southern districts.
