Bangladesh may link up with another submarine cable via Myanmar

Bangladesh plans to connect with the world's longest undersea cable through Myanmar to strengthen its back-up for internet operation, officials said.
To connect with the SEA-ME-WE 3 (South-East Asia - Middle East-Western Europe), Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) will build about 50-kilometre fibre optic link from Cox's Bazar up to the Myanmar border.
State-run BSCCL has started working with Myanmar authorities to get the connectivity, said Sunil Kanti Bose, the telecom secretary.
“We are exploring the possibility of getting connectivity with Myanmar through microwave or terrestrial cable link. Recently a group of experts from Myanmar came to Bangladesh to this effect,” he said.
Bangladesh has no direct scope to be connected with the SEA-ME-WE 3. But Bose said it is however possible to connect to the cable via Myanmar. It is Myanmar's only one under sea connectivity.
Recently the government has approved BSCCL to be a consortium member of another new under sea cable system SEA-ME-WE 5, said the secretary.
The new connection will be used as a back-up of Bangladesh's lone under sea cable SEA-ME-WE 4. It will also be used as a core bandwidth supplier.
BSCCL Managing Director Monwar Hossain said Bangladesh will build part of the cable on its own border side while the other part will be built by Myanmar.
BSCCL is the consortium member of the country's lone submarine cable SEA-ME-WE 4.
The company will have to spend $2.75 million to complete the project, said a BSCCL official. The project would take 12 months to complete, he said.
Thirty-three countries are connected with SEA-ME-WE 3, a 39,000-kilometre cable.
Bangladesh was proposed to join the consortium but the then government chose not to connect with the cable fearing information leaks out of the country.