Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is going to sign a final contract with Intersputnik, an orbital slot leasing company, in order to launch the country’s first satellite Bangabandhu 1.
The proposal got the final nod at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) yesterday, chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith, as confirmed by Joint Secretary of Cabinet Division Mostafizur Rahman.
The CCGP approved the proposal for orbital slot lease following the direct procurement method (DPM) to launch the a communication and broadcasting satellite on 119.1 East longitude, with the cost fixed at $28m (around Tk218.96 crore).
According to the contract draft, the BTRC will pay 20% of the cost ($5.6m) to the Russia-based international space communication services organisation within 90 days after the deal is sealed.
The BTRC also needs to pay 30% of the cost ($8.4m) within the next 15 months, 25% ($7m) within 18 months after that, and the rest within the next eight months.
Earlier, the BTRC also signed a non-disclosure agreement with Intersputnik on Marcy 29, 2012, and then a non-binding Memoranda of Understanding in February 10, 2013, which expired yesterday.
“After receiving the official order of approval, we will contact Intersputnik to sign the deal. It could be done as soon as 10 days, I expect,” BTRC Commissioner ATM Monirul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday evening.
“Although we are already six months behind our schedule, we are very optimistic about finishing the project within the given time – by June 2017,” he added.
Sources said although the BTRC is set to sign the deal soon, Intersputnik is under a deadline, set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on September 21, 2018, to bring the orbital slot in question to use, which also puts Bangladesh government under pressure.
The BTRC commissioner said the slot would be bought for a period of 15 years, which can be extended twice, for the same amount of time and with no additional payment.
The orbital slot leasing proposal, formulated by the Post and Telecommunication Division, states that Intersputnik is willing to hand over the full control of the satellite to Bangladesh, which no other available orbital slots offered.
There is a scope to launch three satellites in the slot, making many planned quality services possible in Bangladesh and other countries in the region.
If Bangladesh decides not to launch any other satellites, it can lease out or sell the remaining frequency to other countries.
Bangladesh’s demand for a satellite is currently met by renting bandwidth from different satellite operators, which costs around $14m each year and is increasing progressively.
The country first applied for orbital slots in 2007, on 102 East longitude, but the BTRC failed the negotiate a deal with the countries who were already using the slot.
Then telecommunication regulator also applied for three other orbital slots: 69 East, 74 East and 133 East longitudes.
On September 16, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved Tk2,967 crore for the Bangabandhu 1 project. Of that fund, Tk1,652.44 crore came from foreign aid, and the remaining Tk1,315.51 crore will be paid by the government.
Out of the total cost, the BTRC has estimated Tk1,312.58 crore to be operational expenditure and Tk1,655.38 for capital expenditure.
The project proposal said the satellite would minimise the existing digital divide between the country’s urban and rural areas as it would take broadcasting and telecommunication services to the most remote areas of the country, and introduce profitable and promising services such as direct service to households throughout the country.
When launched, the Bangabandhu 1 satellite will serve the Saarc countries along with Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as the “Stan” countries – such as Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – if the satellite’s frequency is properly coordinated.
The government plans to launch the satellite in the middle of 2017. Before, the plan was to launch it at the end of 2014.
American firm Space Partnership International has worked with the BTRC for the past few years on the project as a consultancy firm.
Currently, India and Pakistan are the only countries in the subcontinent with satellites, and Sri Lanka is working on launching one of its own.
