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Third Submarine Cable Installation

BSCCL board clears way for engaging US company

Staff Correspondent
15 Sep 2021 00:36:34 | Update: 15 Sep 2021 00:36:34
BSCCL board clears way for engaging US company

The Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) is all set to engage a US telecommunication company – SubCom – in the installation process of the country’s third submarine cable.

The BSCCL board of directors cleared the matter at a meeting held on Tuesday, according to a disclosure made by the listed company to the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

The submarine cable will be installed under the supervision of SMW-6 Consortium II & ASC, a platform of the beneficiary entities.

The consortium selected the US-based company for the execution of the installation work subject to approval from the stakeholders. 

In the disclosure, the BSCCL said, “The board of directors has given approval under the project titled ‘Installation of Third Submarine Cable for Expansion of International Telecommunication System of Bangladesh’ for drafting of construction and maintenance contract (C&MA) by SMW-6 Consortium II & ASC and signing of supply contract with the contractor selected by the consortium.”

According to officials, the BSCCL, on behalf of Bangladesh, is expected to sign the deal within the current month.

Other stakeholders of the consortium - Singapore, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Egypt, France and two Chinese companies - will also sign the agreement with the US Company.     

The signing programme is expected to be held virtually, in the participation of BSCCL chairman and Posts and Telecommunications Division secretary.

The BSCCL is planning to take the internet browsing experience to new heights in the country through a submarine cable. Upon the instruction of the government and with the approval of the board of directors, BSCCL signed a deal with the SMW-6 consortium on September 15, 2019.

As per the BSCCL’s annual report for 2019-20, the cable was primarily expected to be ready for service by 2023.

But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ready for service date of the SMW6 submarine cable has been rescheduled for December 2024.

The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the project – worth Tk 693 crore – December last.

The government will invest Tk 393 crore while the BSCCL will invest Tk 300 crore in the installation project of the submarine cable.

The cable will extend from Singapore to France through the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

It will have core landing stations in Singapore, India, Djibouti, Egypt and France.

In Bangladesh, the cable will extend through the Bay of Bengal to the cable landing station at Cox’s Bazar.

According to BSCCL sources, Bangladesh also has a plan to export bandwidth to the neighbouring countries.

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