Bandwidth export to India begins next month
Prices to come down in local market from Sept
Bangladesh will begin exporting bandwidth -- 10 gigabits per second -- to India's northeastern state of Tripura within the first week of September, officials said.
Bandwidth prices will also come down in the local market with effect from September 1, as decided by Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company at a meeting on Saturday.
For bandwidth export, the Submarine Cable Company has already established necessary connectivity up to the international border in Akhaura, Brahmanbaria, officials of the company said at a press conference in Dhaka yesterday. However, the Indian side is yet to build necessary infrastructure, which is delaying the export, said Monwar Hossain, managing director of Submarine Cable Company.
Bangladesh has a 200 gbps capacity, but only 33 gbps is consumed locally; consumption may rise to 90 gbps by 2016, according to an estimate by the company.
"Even then a good amount will remain unutilised, so we have decided to export it," Hossain said.
Submarine Cable Company will export the bandwidth to India at $10 per mbps, which is higher than the local market price, and will earn $1.2 million or Tk 9.6 crore a year, Hossain said.
The agreement for the bandwidth export was signed in June and will remain valid for one year initially. The deal can be extended for two more years, Hossain said, adding that India may increase import to 40 gbps soon.
The bandwidth prices will come down, by up to 43 percent in different slabs, mainly to increase usage in the country. International gateway operators and internet service providers will primarily be benefitted from the price cut.