BTCL moves to expand broadband outreach across Bangladesh
With a Tk1,059 crore cost and four-year deadline, the company has proposed a project to that end to the Planning Commission
State-owned telecom company Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) plans to expand broadband outreach and uninterrupted telecommunication services all over the country by expanding its fiber-optic network.
With a Tk1,059 crore cost and four-year deadline, the company has proposed a project to that end to the Planning Commission. The project will be placed to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) meeting Tuesday, said officials.
They said the expansion project will enable the BTCL network, which now transmits 27% of Bangladesh's information, to provide 5G services.
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According to the project proposal, BTCL does not have a high-speed optical network in several backwater districts that still have to rely on radio links for telecommunication.
Under the project, 146 underground fiber-optic cables, stretching 3,144 km, will be installed across the country. Besides, eight submarine fiber-optic links with a length of 39 km will be installed.
"In some places, BTCL depends on redundant optical fiber cable of the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB). Since PGCB does not have a redundant fiber-optic network in some districts, BTCL could not establish a strong telecommunication grid," the project proposal argued for the fiber optic ring network.
As a public limited company in Bangladesh, BTCL says it carries about 27% of the total information of the country. BTCL's current network has a significant impact on the overall economic growth of the country.
"A fragile network could have a negative impact on the overall economic growth," noted the proposal.
Broadband internet is a major catalyst for ICT-based socio-economic growth, according to a World Bank study.
To promote the transition from a labor-intensive economy to a knowledge-based one, Bangladesh already has undertaken a number of promising initiatives such as innovation of new technologies, entrepreneurial academy for innovation, hi-tech parks, software technology parks and business incubators. Has taken the initiative.
The global lender noted that emphasis has to be placed on the connectivity, reliability and bandwidth availability to ensure the full implementation of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Md Mamun-Al-Rashid, a member of the Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission, said there is no alternative to a knowledge-based economy to transform the country into a developed one by 2041 by using digital technology.
"It is high time we set up the 5G network," he told The Business Standard, noting the proposed project will also play a major role in achieving better economic growth.
