Bangabandhu-1 satellite seeks business from banks

Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Ltd (BCSCL) has recently written to the finance ministry to request banks to take connection from the country's first communication satellite, Bangabandhu-1, whose commercial service is scheduled to begin in September.

Most banks use very small aperture terminals (VSATs), a small telecommunication earth station that receives and transmits real-time data via satellite, to provide round-the-clock dedicated online banking and card services.

“We have started our commercial negotiations with the ministries and divisions

and private agencies that need dedicated connectivity,” said Shahjahan Mahmood, the newly-appointed chairman of BCSCL, yesterday about the company's business plan.

BCSCL has already signed a deal with the shipping ministry worth about Tk 42 crore a year to ensure connectivity for vessels navigating in the Bay of Bengal and around the country.

The company will get about 1,600 Megahertz bandwidth from the satellite that was thrown into orbit on May 11 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

It plans to sell half of the bandwidth domestically and the remaining to other countries. An international firm will be appointed to market the capacity to neighbouring countries, according to Mahmood. The satellite cost the country Tk 2,765 crore, which is lower than the initial estimate of Tk 2,967 crore.

BCSCL would be commercially viable as there is huge demand for satellite connectivity in Bangladesh, according to Mahmood, who was brought in through a change in the organogram.

He is the immediate past chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. The secretary to the ministry of posts, telecommunications and information technology previously helmed BCSCL.

Mahmood talked to The Daily Star on the sidelines of the daylong 'Space Innovation Summit', organised by the Bangladesh Innovation Forum at the Krishibid Auditorium in the city.

The summit, which saw participation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) personnel, comprised six seminars and two workshops.

The workshops saw students of different universities jointly design and assemble a nano-satellite.

In his speech, Mahmood said an agreement will be signed shortly with the Bangladesh Innovation Forum to organise events to spread space science in the country.

“Now, we need to grow a space innovation culture in the country,” he added.