The newly built cross-border power grid that brings electricity from India to Bangladesh, can also be used for bettering internet connectivity, professionals have said.
The Indo-Bangla power grid is fitted with optical ground wire (OPGW) to measure the volume of electricity being flown.
Professionals have suggested that the telecom carriers from both the countries should persuade their respective governments to use the newly constructed OPGW mounted grid to bolster international internet bandwidth sharing.
Sumon Ahmed Sabir, senior vice-president of the Internet Service Providers Association Bangladesh (ISPAB), said: “It can be an alternative to routing internet bandwidth. Technically it is very much possible and also safe for both the parties.”
“We are already leasing optical fibre from the PGCB [Power Grid Company of Bangladesh]. Some Indian companies can now lease Power Grid Company of India’s fibre connectivity for expanding bandwidth,” added Sumon, also the chief strategic officer of international terrestrial cable (ITC) operator Fibre@Home.
State-run PGCB operates, maintains and develops the national transmission system for distributing generated electricity in the country. It has about 3600km of optical fibre.
In June, PGCB leased out its optical fibre links to two Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) operators - Fiber@home and Summit Communications Limited – to expand internet connectivity to the remote areas of the country.
At present, six Bangladeshi ITC operators are linked with their Indian counterparts through a common optical fibre link. Experts say it exposes the operators from both the countries to the risks of disconnection in case the link is snapped.
Bangladesh imports around 15 Gigabits of bandwidth from India through these ITC connections.
Experts have said the cross-border power grid was built with the taxpayers’ money from both the countries. Therefore, the unused capacity of the new grid should be utilised for internet link.
They also said the oil-rich Arab countries have solidified regional internet connectivity using their own cross-border OPGWs.
On October 5, power import from India began through the Baharampur-Bheramara cross-border power transmission link.
India will initially supply 500MW power to Bangladesh.
