Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC) said there is no shortage of international bandwidth supply in Bangladesh. They said this in a news message yesterday Tuesday.
According to the news release, the combined capacity of the two submarine cable systems is currently around 7,200 Gbps. Of this, about 4,100 Gbps bandwidth is already being provided in the country and BSCPLC has the capacity to provide another 3,000 Gbps bandwidth. It will be possible to further increase this capability in the future through technological development.
The agency alleged that some media recently published misleading reports on submarine cable arrangements, geopolitical risks and potential bandwidth shortages without taking BSCPLC’s views. Which is not consistent with reality.
According to BSCPLC data, only 100 Gbps of the total capacity of 7,200 Gbps goes to the Red Sea, which is only 1.34 percent of the total capacity. Apart from this, there is no existing cable connection through the Strait of Hormuz. Of the remaining 7,100 Gbps, there are 6,000 Gbps in Singapore and 1,100 Gbps in Chennai, which are not dependent on the Straits of Hormuz or Bab al-Mandeb. As a result, the organization claimed that the campaign “Bangladesh may fall into digital darkness due to Houthi rebels or Iran” is baseless.
BSCPLC is a state-owned enterprise under the Department of Posts and Telecommunications and listed on the capital market. It has been performing its duties for a long time as the main government agency for international telecommunication connections in the country. Currently the company operates two submarine cable systems SEA-ME-WE-4 and SEA-ME-WE-5.
Some media reports that the capacity of SIMUI-5 cable has reached its limit are incorrect. Currently, the capacity of this cable is 2,200 Gbps, of which 1,488 Gbps is being used. That means there is still 712 Gbps of unused capacity. The life of the cable is fixed up to 2037 and can be further extended as per requirement in discussions with the consortium.
On the other hand, BSCPLC has also said that unwarranted panic is being spread by presenting SIMUI-4 as an ‘old cable at the end of its life’. Currently, the capacity of this cable is 4,650 Gbps and about 2,595 Gbps bandwidth is being provided through it. Its lifespan has been set by the consortium up to 2030 with scope for extension.
According to BSCPLC, considering the future needs of the country, they are already implementing another submarine cable system SIMUI-6. If this cable is launched in the beginning of 2027, the capacity of providing a total bandwidth of 30 thousand Gbps will be achieved at the Cox’s Bazar-Singapore and Cox’s Bazar-Mumbai ends of about 15 thousand Gbps. As a result, by 2027, the total capacity of state submarine cables will stand at around 38,000 Gbps.
According to BSCPLC, the company is fully prepared to meet the current and future bandwidth needs of the country. The company also assured that there is no shortage of international bandwidth supply at present or in the future.
