Bandwidth 'down' in Bangladesh to collect dues, slow internet service

 

Submarine Cable Company has 'down' (limited) bandwidth services to collect dues from 19 International Internet Gateway (IIG) companies in Bangladesh. In this, many customers of the country have faced slow internet service.

Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, limited the bandwidth to 500 Gbps (Gigabit per second) after 12:00 pm on Thursday.

The company said it has limited the bandwidth of 19 IIG institutions. According to BTRC data, there are 34 IIG institutions in the country.

BSCPLC Managing Director Mirza Kamal Ahmed said that the bandwidth was stopped due to non-payment of dues for a long time. He also said that dues have been demanded from the companies many times. they didn't give They collect money from customers. Why not give revenue to the government?

Mirza Kamal Ahmed also said that the companies have been informed immediately after closing the bandwidth on Thursday.

Meanwhile, internet service providers and mobile network operators have reported that they are in trouble due to the sudden limitation of bandwidth. Customers are suffering from slow internet problem.

According to sources, BSCPLC wrote to the Ministry of Telecommunication on July 13 to collect dues from IIGs. The ministry wrote to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on August 9 to take action in this regard. It is said that as of June 30 this year, Submarine Cable Company currently owes Tk 384 crore to various operators for IPLC and IP transit services. Out of this they get Tk 181 crore from 9 operators.

BTRC wrote to the International Internet Gateway Association of Bangladesh (IIGAB) on September 14 for payment of these dues.

IIGAB Secretary General Junayed Ahmed said that apart from the 9 institutions to which letters have been sent, many others have had their bandwidth restricted. Could have given them advance notice. Could have at least informed before restricting.

Internet service providers (ISPs) provide Internet services to consumers. ISPAB President Imdadul Haq said that customers are already calling complaining of slow internet. Internet demand will increase after evening. Then there is a danger that the suffering of customers will increase.

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) preliminary report of Census and Household Census 2022 says that 31 percent of the population in the country are internet users.

People's personal life, business, education and entertainment are connected with internet.

Former Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said this afternoon that he came to know about the bandwidth shutdown only through journalists. The Submarine Cable Company is managed by the Board. The board decides. He said, business has debts. A better notice could have been given to collect the dues. Instead, it is the people who suffer from the decision to cut off bandwidth.

Mustafa Jabbar said, government institutions need to think about the decision that affects the people.