The state-owned Bangladesh Submarine Cable PLC (BSCPLC) has marked a significant milestone by surpassing 4 terabits per second in international bandwidth (real-time internet traffic) transmission.
This achievement followed the commercial launch of satellite-based internet service (Starlink) in July, which added 200 gigabits of bandwidth supply. On August 1, BSCPLC reached the new milestone, continuing its upward trajectory, according to the Chief Adviser's Press Wing.
Previously, on April 28, BSCPLC had crossed the 3 terabits mark. Within just three months, the company added another terabit to its supply.
In contrast, in the eight months prior to April, usage had increased by only 1.10 terabits. During the previous tenure of the Awami League government, more than 65% of BSCPLC's capacity remained unused.
Under the current administration, bandwidth supply has increased by over 2.2 terabits in just one year, a growth rate of 105%.
This progress has been made possible due to the policy support from the Posts and Telecommunications Division, proactive initiatives by the company's management, and two rounds of price reductions.
As BSCPLC's share in the country's total bandwidth usage has grown, its revenue has also seen a significant rise.
Recently, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) amended its licensing guidelines, mandating all International Internet Gateway (IIG) operators to use at least 50% submarine bandwidth. This move has reduced dependency on India-based internet supply and encouraged greater use of submarine bandwidth.
In response, BSCPLC has introduced special packages with additional discounts for data centres, cloud providers, and hyperscalers.
The government has already signed agreements to participate in the revised routes of SEA-ME-WE 4, SEA-ME-WE 5, and SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable systems, which were recently approved in an Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting.
Once implemented, BSCPLC's real-time internet capacity will be enhanced by an additional 17 terabits.
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