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First private Internet gateway to start operation June 25

Saturday, 7 June 2008


The first private International Internet Gateway (IIG) is set to start operation in Bangladesh from June 25, reports bdnews24.com.

Chairman of Mango Teleservices Ltd A Mannan Khan told the news agency that two points-of-presence (POPs), or access points to the Internet, will be installed in Dhaka and Chittagong in the first phase of operations, to be expanded later.

Mango Teleservices, a unit of Dhaka-based Communication Solution Limited, set up the IIG in partnership with multinational corporation Cisco Systems, Inc.

Khan said Cisco would work as a technology solution provider and help Mango provide cost efficient and quality Internet solutions.

Rajesh Chainani, senior vice president of Cisco India and SAARC, told the news agency from Delhi by telephone, "It has been proven that access to high quality bandwidth helps transform the economy of a country."

Mango Teleservices won its IIG licence by open tender from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on February 25, 2008.

The IIG operator will give internet service providers and businesses high speed, high bandwidth international connections through its network, and claims the network architecture is built with the capacity to accommodate 100-fold internet traffic growth in Bangladesh.

Mango's IIG will be connected with the existing submarine cable as its main link and with the Satellite Earth Station/VSAT as its back-up until another submarine cable is available.

"Our goal is to deliver the most advanced network infrastructure that enables Mango to roll out services to customers in a timely and cost effective manner," said Rajesh Chainani.

"We believe demand for internet bandwidth in Bangladesh will grow up to nine times within next five years," he added.

The information and communication market has mushroomed in Bangladesh as Internet bandwidth became cheaper with the recent introduction of submarine cable connections.

But at present Internet connectivity speeds are still less than two gigabits per second, giving very low Internet penetration of 0.35 per cent in 2007 against the Asian average of more than 12 per cent.

Mango claims its end customers will get high-gigabit connectivity to their network, accommodating multiple-10-gigabit Internet connectivity.

"The IP backbone requirement in Bangladesh is expected to increase to 20 Gbps within the next three years," said Chainani.