Full internet service expected by June

Bangladesh is likely to have its internet services fully restored in early June following a submarine cable disruption on April 19.

Efforts are well underway to redirect bandwidth and maintain stability in service, with additional challenges arising from a crackdown on illegal internet equipment last week that slowed speed further.

The prolonged repair process has been complicated by initial misinformation about the location of the breakdown and bureaucratic complexities in Indonesia as undersea cable was cut in the country's territory.

Concern mounts as Bangladesh anticipates its internet services to return to normal by the first week of June.

Since the SEA-ME-WE-05 (SMW5) submarine cable disconnection on April 19, it has taken over a month and a half to identify the location of the disruption and begin restoration work.

Mirza Kamal Ahmed, managing director of Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd, expressed optimism about the restoration timeline, stating: "We expect to be reconnected to SMW5 in early June.

Afterwards, according to him, it may take another 24 to 48 hours for the bandwidth to normalise.

"We anticipate that the internet slowdown will be resolved by the first week of June," said Mr Ahmed.

He said it does not usually take much time, but this time it is much delayed to get cable repaired due to confusion over the location - Indonesia or Singapore.

"Secondly, following identification, the Indonesian authorities took longer time than usual to give approval for necessary repair work," said Mr Ahmed.

Efforts to maintain internet speed despite limitations have involved redirecting bandwidth. Normally, SMW5 supplies approximately 1,600 Gbps of bandwidth to Bangladesh.

With this connection down, alternative means via SMW-04 are providing around 60 per cent of the usual capacity.

This effort aims to keep internet services stable across the country.

The Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) has highlighted additional challenges affecting internet speed.

Ongoing operations against illegal internet equipment in Dhaka have compounded the slowdown.

ISPAB president Emdadul Haque said the BTRC's campaign against unlicensed ISPs in Dhaka has led to slow broadband speed due to the seizure of illegal internet and cable TV equipment.

He welcomed the BTRC's campaign, thus advocating for its expansion nationwide.

Mr Haque emphasised that illegal connections avoided tax and VAT (value-added tax), depriving the government of a big chunk of revenue.

By delinking these connections, according to him, the sector's business environment would improve and customers receive promised service speeds.

The prolonged restoration of the SMW-05 connection has been due to initial misinformation about the location of the disconnection.

Undersea cable break in Indonesian waters led to the disruption at Kuakata in Patuakhali, completely halting the country's second submarine cable connection.

The repair process is lengthy, involving approvals and waiting for consortium ship.

Currently, Bangladesh's total bandwidth usage exceeds 5,000 Gbps, with more than half or around 2,700 Gbps, supplied through International Terrestrial Cable (ITC) licences, importing bandwidth from India overland.

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