The deal on Internet bandwidth export to India’s “Seven Sisters” states is expected to be signed during the visit of the country’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Dhaka.
Sushma Swaraj, India’s minister under the government of Norendra Modi who won a landslide victory last month, is expected to visit Dhaka soon.
“The parties are at the final stage of negotiation. Deal may be signed very soon,” Monowar Hossain, Managing Director of Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL), told Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
BSCCL sources said they are preparing all the necessary documents and have drafted final agreement papers.
Sushma Swaraj was earlier scheduled to arrive in Dhaka at the end of June.
In the mean time, on Wednesday BSCCL board approved the price range of the bandwidth for last moment bargaining with India’s state-owned telecommunication company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
“The board approved a price for us with a very minimum range for bargaining, but it will not be wise to declare it now as the deal is not final yet,” Monowar Hossain said.
According to the sources, the price approved is close to local price in Bangladesh.
As BSNL is taking a bulk amount of bandwidth (10Gbps) to the northeastern states of India, the price would be very marginal, said Monowar Hossain.
BSCCL sources said it is expected India will take more than 100Gbps within a year or two when the second submarine consortium SE-ME-WE-5 will be connected with Bangladesh.
The connection is scheduled to come by 2016.
Primarily, the link will be established between Bangladesh’s Akhaura and Agartala point of India’s Assam.
The company has also plans to connect it with Shillong point.
A four-member delegation recently visited Dhaka and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the bandwidth export.
They held a conference with BSCCL officials on Monday last.
Before departure, the delegation said they would be back to Dhaka with Sushma Swaraj and sign a final deal in this regard.
The BSCCL authorities had said the Seven Sisters - Arunachal, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Shilong, have a huge demand of bandwidth.
They expect a huge earning from the states when the second submarine consortium SE-ME-WE-5 will be connected.
Currently, the BSCCL has 200Gbps (88MIU-km) bandwidth and Bangladesh can use only 32Gbps or 16% of it.
In February the Bangladesh government decided to export the unused Internet bandwidth, following a request from India in July last year seeking 40Gbps bandwidth for their eight eastern states.
The BSCCL had earlier projected a monthly earning of around Tk4.83 crore ($643,000) from the export of 40Gbps bandwidth; but the MoU for only 10Gbps bandwidth brought down the estimated monthly earnings to only Tk1.20 crore ($161,000).