They can lay cable under the sea, but over land seems to be difficult.
Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) is going to inaugurate its second undersea cable connection from Turkey to Kuakata in the country today, but its back link connectivity from the landing station to the main land is yet to be established.
Parvez M Ashraf, project director of the second submarine cable landing station, said they are ready to launch the cable — SEA-ME-WE 5 — as its construction is complete.
Md Monwar Hossain, managing director of BSCCL, who is now in Turkey to attend the management meeting of the consortium, will send data traffic to Bangladesh through this cable and inaugurate it, said Ashraf.
However, internet users in the country will not be able to enjoy connectivity just yet, as the backhaul from Kuakata to Dhaka is not yet ready, which will take at least a few more weeks.
Abu Saeed Khan, senior policy fellow of LIRNEasia, a Colombo-based ICT think tank, said activating a submarine cable without the onshore transmission link is like inaugurating a seaport that does not have a road or rail linkage.
I was reminded of what happened when Bangladesh got its first undersea cable. Same thing. I can only hope that the rest of the story will not be repeated.
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Abu Saeed Khan
SEA-ME-WE 5 consortium was prudent in selecting the vendor for submarine section. But the state-owned outfits of Bangladesh have been doctoring the bidding process of overland transmission. It is the only country in the Bay of Bengal region that forbids private investments in submarine cable. This is how Bangladesh counts the cost of monopoly!