Businesses hail plan to secure second submarine cable link

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Raihan M Chowdhury
Business leaders and market operators have hailed the Chief Adviser's announcement to secure a second submarine cable link under a package programme undertaken by the government for the ICT sector to reap maximum benefit from the global information superhighway.
Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed Thursday disclosed the government programme while inaugurating the five-day Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services SoftExpo 2008 in the city.
The proposed second submarine cable connection will ensure uninterrupted overseas voice and data communications service.
"It's a visionary decision which should be executed immediately," Annisul Huq, the former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) told the FE.
He said the proposed cable connection, if installed, will certainly reduce the cost now being borne by the internet users.
He also suggested lower bandwidth prices for spreading the benefit of information and communications technology across the country.
With just one submarine cable link, the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) cannot guarantee non-stop services to internet service providers and telecom companies, compelling them to rely on satellite links as emergency back-ups.
'A back-up link with any submarine cable will give the local telecommunications industry a seamless overseas connection if the existing cable links are disrupted accidentally,' said a market operator.
The internet service faced frequent disruption in the recent months causing huge losses to the country's businesses when the lone SEA-ME-WE4 submarine cable, which is owned by the BTTB as a consortium member, was snapped several times.
Of late, the submarine cable was cut at Alexandria in Egypt on January 30 last suspending the BTTB's internet connectivity with Europe and the USA.
Welcoming the Chief Adviser's decision, president of BASIS, Rafiqul Islam Rowly said government should allow the private investment in establishing the second gateway.
Echoing the same reaction, Akhtaruzzaman Monju, former president of Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) said the government should immediately implement the decision for the betterment of the country's economy.
Currently the Western hemisphere-bound internet traffic is diverted via Singapore across the Pacific, said a BTTB official.
But the low capacity of the interim route causes congestion and slows the internet speed throughout Bangladesh.