Internet to be disrupted countrywide on March 2

Internet services will be temporarily disrupted across the country from 7 am to 7 pm on March 2, because the country‍‍`s first submarine cable will be partially unplugged for maintenance.

The circuits of the Singapore side of SEA-ME-WE-4, an submarine communications cable system that connects Bangladesh from Cox‍‍`s Bazar to Singapore, will be partially closed during the period, according to Bangladesh undersea Cables PLC (BSCPLC).

However, the second submarine cable, SEA-ME-WE-5 installed in Kuakata will remain operational as usual.

Total usage of bandwidth is currently around 5,000 Gbps, with international terrestrial cable licence holders importing bandwidth from India across land boundaries as of October last year generating more than half of it (approximately 2,700 Gbps).

The rest -- about 2,300 Gbps -- is supplied by the BSCPLC, which connects the country with two submarine cables, according to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.

Bangladesh is a member of the South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) consortium, and Bangladesh was connected to the first undersea cable in 2006.

It supplies around 800 Gbps bandwidth.

Since the connection was built in 2017, the BSCCL has supplied 1,500 Gbps through the SEA-ME-WE 5.

By 2025, the company intends to get 13,200 Gbps via the third underwater cable, SEA-ME-WE 6.

Also, the BSCCL is going to spend $3.2 million to raise the capacity of its first undersea cable by nearly six times to 4,600 Gbps.

Three private licensees of submarine cable -- Summit Communications, CdNet Communications and Metacore Subcom Ltd -- have formed a consortium to install the country‍‍`s first private submarine cable by 2025, which will have the capacity to supply 45,000 Gbps bandwidth.