Problem of slow Internet remains
Thursday, 18 October 2007
THE submarine cable connection was expected to revolutionise the use of the computer in Bangladesh by much expanding its use and opening up of new fields of its applications and earnings from the same. It was thought that Internet connection or the speed of accessing the Internet would leap up after its introduction. Another very important development expected after the cable connectivity was a fall in the costs of accessing the net. But, none of these developments is yet to be noted.
The Internet service providers (ISPs) give out enticing advertisements that they provide fast-speed access to the Internet through the submarine cable connection. In reality, the clients of the ISPs find no difference really from the submarine cable connection. They say that they continue to suffer slow Internet use as they used to when they used dial up connections. Nor are the users finding any relief in the area of service charge. ISPs are charging them more on the plea of giving service through submarine cable connection notwithstanding that the service remains hardly improved.
Observers of the situation say that the ISPs buy very limited bandwidth from the Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board (BTTB) but then provide connections to too many users than what their purchased bandwidth can support. They, thus, make maximum profits from both buying limited bandwidth from the BTTB at a cheap price and then going after a large number of customers. The only losers and suckers from the operation are the helpless clients who suffer from slow Internet use as a consequence of too many customers under an ISP wanting to surf the Internet.
Internet use could rapidly increase if the ISPs could provide efficient service. But they are hardly motivated to do so from the present assured high profits from their limited operations. But this is not helping the cause of much spreading the use of the Internet. In some cases, the ISPs were earlier reported to have applied to the BTTB for more bandwidth to address customers' complaints and to increase the number of customers. But the officials of the BTTB were, also reportedly, sitting on such applications in their characteristic bureaucratic manner.
There are also probably technical problems involved in providing greater bandwidths to the ISPs because the BTTB is yet to set up additional infrastructures to be able to meet such requests. Presently, the BTTB has a massive bandwidth of around 10 gigabytes per second. But it sold or utilised bandwidth of around 622 megabytes per second ( one gigabyte equals one thousand megabytes). This shows how massively underused is the capacity of the submarine cable connection.
Policies and actions are badly needed for drastic changes in this state of affairs. The concerned authority must acquire enabling infrastructures to be able to provide additional bandwidth to users. It should make the use more flexible so that users other than ISPs can also buy bandwidth directly from it. Rules should also be introduced to oblige the ISPs to pass on the benefits of cheap bandwidth price to their customers.
Ashraf Ali Tarafdar
Khilgaon, Dhaka
The Internet service providers (ISPs) give out enticing advertisements that they provide fast-speed access to the Internet through the submarine cable connection. In reality, the clients of the ISPs find no difference really from the submarine cable connection. They say that they continue to suffer slow Internet use as they used to when they used dial up connections. Nor are the users finding any relief in the area of service charge. ISPs are charging them more on the plea of giving service through submarine cable connection notwithstanding that the service remains hardly improved.
Observers of the situation say that the ISPs buy very limited bandwidth from the Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board (BTTB) but then provide connections to too many users than what their purchased bandwidth can support. They, thus, make maximum profits from both buying limited bandwidth from the BTTB at a cheap price and then going after a large number of customers. The only losers and suckers from the operation are the helpless clients who suffer from slow Internet use as a consequence of too many customers under an ISP wanting to surf the Internet.
Internet use could rapidly increase if the ISPs could provide efficient service. But they are hardly motivated to do so from the present assured high profits from their limited operations. But this is not helping the cause of much spreading the use of the Internet. In some cases, the ISPs were earlier reported to have applied to the BTTB for more bandwidth to address customers' complaints and to increase the number of customers. But the officials of the BTTB were, also reportedly, sitting on such applications in their characteristic bureaucratic manner.
There are also probably technical problems involved in providing greater bandwidths to the ISPs because the BTTB is yet to set up additional infrastructures to be able to meet such requests. Presently, the BTTB has a massive bandwidth of around 10 gigabytes per second. But it sold or utilised bandwidth of around 622 megabytes per second ( one gigabyte equals one thousand megabytes). This shows how massively underused is the capacity of the submarine cable connection.
Policies and actions are badly needed for drastic changes in this state of affairs. The concerned authority must acquire enabling infrastructures to be able to provide additional bandwidth to users. It should make the use more flexible so that users other than ISPs can also buy bandwidth directly from it. Rules should also be introduced to oblige the ISPs to pass on the benefits of cheap bandwidth price to their customers.
Ashraf Ali Tarafdar
Khilgaon, Dhaka