Internet may slow down for over 7 hrs today

Internet users will suffer slow connection today due to maintenance work on a submarine cable between 2:30pm and 10:00pm.

State-owned Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) recently issued a statement saying that one of its two submarine cables will remain completely dysfunctional during the time.

This could force the international terrestrial cable companies to procure transborder bandwidth from India as backup.

The submarine cable which will be operated on today is called SEA-ME-WE-4. Bangladesh was connected to it in 2005.

The government later allowed several private entities to import bandwidth from India using underground cables.

BSCCL plugged Bangladesh with SEA-ME-WE 5, the second submarine cable, in 2017.

BSCCL Managing Director Mashiur Rahman said users will not suffer much because internet traffic remains low on Fridays.

He added that no significant problem will arise during voice calls and other internet services as additional bandwidth will be available, thanks to the second submarine cable.

Industry insiders said BSCCL's profits almost doubled in the first nine months of the 2020-21 fiscal year and it should make the connectivity more resilient.

Contacted, Abu Saeed Khan, senior policy fellow at Colombo-based regulatory and policy research outfit LIRNEasia, termed BSCCL's business model primitive and obsolete.

The users do not buy cable-specific internet bandwidth and BSCCL should divert one cable's traffic to another without issuing a statement.

He added that the company enjoys monopoly and makes immense profit by abusing its power. He urged the telecom regulator to intervene and encourage competition.

BSCCL made Tk 124 crore in profits in the first nine months of this fiscal year, a 90 percent increase from last year.

The bandwidth consumption of the first cable increased to 500 Gbps while the second cable uses 1,000 Gbps out of its 1,200 gbps capacity, according to Rahman.

The country currently uses 2,500 Gbps, of which 1,500 Gbps is provided by the BSCCL while the other companies provide the rest.

Work from home and distance learning have significantly increased data use amid the pandemic.

Bandwidth usage was just over 1,000 Gbps before the pandemic and in April 2020, it ballooned to over 1,400 Gbps.

Industry insiders said Bangladesh could run out of internet bandwidth in one and a half years.

Rahman said an additional 900 Gbps will be available through SEA-ME-WE-5, a consortium of countries for submarine cable systems connecting different countries.

A BSCCL source said Bangladesh needs an investment of $1.2 million for the additional 900 Gbps.

Bangladesh is going to be connected to a third submarine cable in 2024, the official said.