$36m for Bangabandhu satellite's orbital slot

The government is likely to spend $36 million to procure the orbital slot needed for the launch of the Bangabandhu satellite, the country's inaugural communication and broadcast satellite.

The figure is over and above what the government was hoping to pay to acquire an orbital slot. As per the Bangabandhu satellite project's outline, $28 million has been assigned for the purpose, but the vendor, Russian company Intersputnik, is firm on its asking price of $36 million.

An official of the Post and Telecommuni-cation Division said the proposal has been finalised and will soon be sent to the cabinet committee on economic affairs for approval.

If the deal is not closed with Intersputnik by December 31, the company will sell the slot to some other interested party, he added.

The slot was rated as the best option for the satellite by the project's consultant, Space Partnership International, a US company.

The Russian company is willing to give the full control of the satellite to Bangladesh, a feature not provided in the other available orbital slots, as per the proposal.

There is scope to launch three satellites in a row from the slot and it will be possible to provide many planned quality services to Bangladesh and other countries in the region through it.

If the second and the third satellites are not launched in future, the country can earn revenue by leasing out or selling the remaining frequency to other countries.

At present, the country's demand for a satellite is met by renting bandwidth from different satellite operators, which cost around $14 million every year, with the amount increasing progressively, the official said. Once the satellite is launched, the foreign currency will remain in the country, he added.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council has sanctioned Tk 2,967 crore for the Bangabandhu satellite project, of which Tk 1,652 crore would come from aid. The remaining amount would be raised through bidder finance.

The satellite will minimise the digital divide as it would take broadcasting and telecoms services to the most rural of areas and introduce profitable and promising services such as Direct to Home throughout the country, as per the proposal.

It will also work as parallel and backup network to the existing terrestrial backbone network. The government plans to launch the satellite in 2017.