Thursday, October 9, 2025

Bandwidth poses problem of plenty

The country will get an additional 96 gigabytes (GBs) of Internet bandwidth from the international submarine cable consortium (ISCC) in the middle of
June this year, sources in Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company (BSCCL) say. At present, the country gets 44.6 GBs of bandwidth from the ISCC through the lone submarine
cable SEA-ME-WE-4.
BSCCL managing director Md Monowar Hossain tells The Independent that, from June, the country will have a total of 140.6 GBs of bandwidth.
“This is a huge amount. If it is used properly, it would make high-speed internet available across the country,” he says.
“The present number of Internet subscribers in the country is 1.20 crore but most of them are urban-based. If we want to utilise the increased bandwidth, we will have
to build infrastructure to take Internet to the villages,” he said.
Experts welcome the recent developments, but cautions that there should be a guideline ensuring a fixed subscriber-base under a certain bandwidth, otherwise people
will hardly benefit from the increased bandwidth.
Pointing out that only one-third (15 GBs) of the current allocated 44.6-GB bandwidth is used, experts say without an effective policy to maximise the usage of Internet
speed, the additional bandwidth will be a waste too.
“This increase of bandwidth will be wastage unless the authorities formulate a policy for its proper usage,” says Dr Satyaprasad Saha, professor of telecommunication
at BUET and a renowned telecom consultant.
Two-thirds of the allocated bandwidth are being wasted because of the government’s open-market approach in distribution, he says.
“Rather than having a policy to prioritise the potential sectors for bandwidth distribution, bandwidth is now provided at random,” he points out.
The government hasn’t taken the required initiative on the infrastructure front to bring its district towns under a high-speed Internet service (through the asymmetric
digital subscriber line or ADSL) regime so that the bandwidth can be used to capacity, he adds.
“I think time has come for proper distribution of the bandwidth. Educational institutions, telecommunication companies, ISPs should get a good share of the bandwidth
under a formulated policy,” Dr Saha says.
Bangladesh Telecommuni­cation Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is not sitting idle. Its officials say they have already fixed a conditional ratio for the Internet service
providers (ISPs) at 1:20— meaning one Mbps bandwidth should be distributed among 20 lines at the most.
However, BTRC officials admit, the ISPs don’t stick to the rule in the absence of surveillance.
The neighbouring India has a commissioned conditional ratio at 1:4 ensuring that one Mbps of bandwidth is distributed among four subscribers at the most.
ISPs have their own explanation in defence. “Yes, the government has reduced the per-Mbps-bandwidth prices but ISPs are also being ordered to get connected with the
Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN),” Emdad Hossain, an ISP owner, says.
Hossain says ISPs now have to pay Tk 2 a metre to the NTTN for Internet line. “With that, our cost has increased manifold. So we try to accommodate as many subscribers
as possible within a certain amount of bandwidth,” he says. Due to the high overheads, only 50 ISPs are operational right now, says FM Rashid Amin, joint secretary
general of Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA).
“Two hundred and ten companies have the ISP licence but not more than 50 are functioning now. The high operational costs would push out of business another 20, by
2015, if the government does not come to their aid,” he says.
According to him, business profit is turning out to be very low.
“It is impossible to sell 256 Kbps at a price point of Tk 1,000 a month since ISPs themselves are paying Tk 10,000 to the International Internet Gateways (IIG) for one
Mbps. It would mean an ISP would have to subsidise a customer to the tune of Tk 1,500 at that price point,” he says. “I just only counted the raw cost of bandwidth
excluding the operational costs,” he adds.
The government has directed the ISPs to get connected to the NTTN being laid by the private sector, Amin says and points out: “For a developing country like
Bangladesh, the government itself should be laying the NTTN instead of giving the mandate to the private sector.”
“The price of Tk 2 a metre is too much to bear for small ISPs. I personally now have to pay Tk 16 lakh per month to the NTTN for my company’s network. If the NTTN is
spread across the country then I will have to pay Tk 30 lakh a month, which is too much,” says Amin, who is also the owner of Link3, one of the big ISPs.
“I have about 8,000 subscribers and most of them are corporate entities, so I am still in the business. But the small ISPs, who mainly deal with residential lines,
couldn’t cope with this huge cost,” he says.
Small ISPs don’t find the market lucrative enough for optimal distribution of bandwidth, he says adding: “So they try to get as many subscribers as possible within a
certain amount of bandwidth to make profit. As a result, customers have a slow Internet speed.”
Officials of two NTTNs – Fiber<\@>homes and Summit Telecommunications – say that getting connected to the NTTN will reduce cost for the ISPs in long run as, at
present, almost 70 per cent of the revenue of an ISP is spent on operational cost including manual repair of broken transmission lines.
“The ISPs are saying that getting connected to the NTTN is costly for them, but what about us? We are paying Tk 15 to 20 lakh (depending on geographical locations) to
lay one km of line and we expect to recover the cost after 10 years. We also want to business,” says Abbas Faruq, head of public affairs at Fiber<\@>homes.
Faruq says his company has already laid 400 km of cables in the capital. “Fifty-six ISPs, six large cable operators and four mobile phone operators – Grameenphone,
Banglalink, Citycell and Robi – are using our network at present,” he adds. “ISPs should get their cables encased in a common underground duct as it would cut their
massive operational costs. Now the cost seems high but, in future, there will be a win-win situation,” Faruq says.

-With The Independent input

Related News

Bangladesh and KSA sign pact for workers’ rights

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have just inked a labour recruitment agreement, marking the first deal aimed at promoting fair recruitment practices and protecting workers’ rights. Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Adviser, Prof. Asif Nazrul, and the Saudi Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Engineer Ahmad Bin Solaiman Al-Rajhi, recently came ... Read more

Poor pay, allowances of teachers affect education

World Teacher’s Day today Shahin Akhter Poor pay-scale and allowances and low social status mark the poor condition of the teachers in Bangladesh affecting the education sector, observed educationists and researchers. They also said that the Bangladeshi teachers were lagging much behind their fellows even in the neighbouring countries in terms of these facilities and ... Read more

Protecting hilsa: 22-day fishing ban begins

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government has put a 22-day halt on catching, transporting, storing, selling, and marketing hilsa throughout the country. This measure aims to protect the fish during its crucial breeding season. The ban started at midnight yesterday and will last until October 25, as stated in a notification from the Ministry of ... Read more

Road fatalities: 446 crashes, 417 lives lost in September

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In September, a tragic report from the Road Safety Foundation revealed that at least 417 people lost their lives and 682 were injured in 446 road accidents throughout Bangladesh. Among those who died, there were 63 women and 47 children, as highlighted in the foundation’s monthly report released today. In 151 ... Read more

Man’s fatal fall into Ramna Park lake

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A tragic incident occurred yesterday at Ramna Park in the capital, where a man drowned in the lake. The victim has been identified as 55-year-old Wasimul Haq. The police were able to identify him using fingerprint records. According to Ramna police SI Mizanur Rahman, he was discovered unconscious around 6:00 PM ... Read more

Tariff Commission’s size-based hilsa pricing strategy

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC), also known as the Tariff Commission, has suggested setting a maximum retail price for hilsa based on its size. This recommendation comes in response to the unusual spike in prices seen in the local market. On Sunday, the Tariff Commission released a report detailing ... Read more

Ekushey Book Fair won’t happen in December

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangla Academy announced yesterday (28 September), that the previously scheduled dates for the Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 have been postponed. In a press release, they explained that this decision was made following a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs on September 21, which indicated that the fair should ... Read more

Working in Bangladesh is quite challenging: CEC

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Election Commission is grappling with a mix of challenges, both seen and unseen, as it gears up for the upcoming elections and responds to various demands, shared chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Saturday. “These hurdles might not be apparent from the outside, but we’re constantly navigating through them,” ... Read more

Travel ban on Keokradong hill to be lifted starting from 1 October

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Great news for travelers! Keokradong hill in Bandarban’s Ruma upazila is set to welcome tourists again starting October 1. The district administration has finally lifted the travel ban that had been in effect for almost three years. Bandarban Deputy Commissioner (DC) Shamim Ara Rini announced the decision today (27 September) during ... Read more

Tree planting campaign to lower pollution, make city more attractive

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Administrator Md Shahjahan Mia has inaugurated a tree plantation and greening programme covering 33 road medians, spanning a total length of 31 kilometres, within the corporation’s jurisdiction. Under the “Zero Soil” programme, ornamental flowering trees and grasses will be planted across 28 DSCC medians, while the ... Read more

Krishi Bank ranks third in remittance collection

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Krishi Bank has shown remarkable success in collecting remittances from expatriates during the first eight months of 2025 (January–August). Known as bank for farmers due to its agricultural loan services, this state-owned institution has climbed to the third position in remittance collection from abroad in that timeframe. This notable achievement has ... Read more

North Bay low : Rain forecast for Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Many parts of the country is expected to witness moderate to heavy and very heavy rainfall in the coming days due to the formation of a low-pressure system over the north Bay and adjoining coastal areas, the Met office said in its latest forecast. According to Bangladesh Meteorological Department’s 120-hour weather ... Read more

Metrorail boosts service: Extended hours & more frequent arrivals

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Dhaka metrorail service is set to start operating earlier in the morning and later at night to better serve the growing number of passengers. Service hours will be extended by 30 minutes at both the beginning and end of the day, and the interval between trains will be reduced by nearly ... Read more

22% minors in Bangladesh’s sex trade

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least 22 percent of victims of commercial sexual exploitation (abuse of a person, or a minor, through sexual activities in exchange for money, goods, or other benefits) in Bangladesh are children, said speakers at an event yesterday. They shared the information at the launch of “Project Shurakkha”, an initiative of ... Read more

WB Reports Bangladesh Heat Costs at $1.78 Billion in 2024

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Rising temperatures in Bangladesh are fueling a surge in heat-related illnesses, leading to the loss of 250 million workdays in 2024 and economic losses estimated at $1.33–1.78 billion, representing about 0.3 to 0.4 percent of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, according to a new World Bank report. The report ... Read more

Police clearance no longer required for passports

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus announced that police verification will no longer be necessary for obtaining a passport, thereby reducing unnecessary hassle for citizens. “Getting a passport is a basic right. We have established a rule that eliminates the need for police verification,” he stated. While speaking at the opening session ... Read more

Metro rail achieves record 4 lakh daily passengers

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Metro Rail has achieved a remarkable milestone by carrying over 400,000 passengers in a single day. The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), which operates the Metro Rail, announced this achievement on their official Facebook page on Friday night. For the first time, Metro Rail recorded 403,164 passengers. The Metro Rail ... Read more

Most people, about 66% think civil servants behave as if they are rulers

News Desk : dhakamirror.com More than 100,000 participants have contributed their responses to reform commission’s online survey 80% of the respondents believe that the administration is not approachable for the general public, according to a survey conducted by the Public Administration Reform Commission. Additionally, 66% of participants feel that civil servants act as if they ... Read more

Former Justice Abdur Rouf dies

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former Chief Election Commissioner Justice Md Abdur Rouf has passed away at the age of 91. He died around 10:00 am while receiving treatment at Insaf Barakah Kidney and General Hospital in Dhaka, as stated in a press release. Justice Rouf had been battling heart disease, lung complications, kidney issues, and ... Read more

Bangladesh climbed 4 positions to rank 93rd in global passport index

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh has climbed four notches up in the latest Henley Passport Index 2025, ranking 93rd out of 99. However, the number of visa-free destinations for Bangladeshi passport holders has dropped from 42 in 2024 to 39 this year, reflecting a decline in global travel privileges. Despite this improvement in rank — ... Read more