It was a problem in the country that gave its name to the Bay of Bengal that caused the main APNIC conference to shift its location to Colombo. So, when I was asked to deliver one of the two keynotes, I proposed a talk on connectivity in the Bay. Now that SAARC has taken a hit to its gut, there are many who think regional cooperation should focus on the Bay that unites us rather than the land that divides.
Here is what the keynote is about:
Much is changing in the region’s ICT infrastructure. China Unicom is building a cable station in Ngwe Saung on the Myanmar coast, solely for the purpose of connecting Western China to the world through the AAE-1 cable. It will not serve Myanmar operators. SEA-ME-WE 5, a major consortium cable will have both Myanmar and Chinese operators as partners, and will serve both countries. Bangladesh, which connected to SEA-ME-WE 4 in 2005, is also a member of the SEA-ME-WE 5 consortium. The keynote will discuss ongoing initiatives to build connectivity in the region with special reference to the UN ESCAP Asia Pacific Information Superhighway initiative.
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