The dominance of Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC) in the country’s international bandwidth infrastructure is restricting competition and hampering efforts to provide more affordable and reliable internet services, industry stakeholders said at a seminar on Tuesday.
They called for greater competition in the submarine cable sector, private investment in international connectivity and open, non-discriminatory access to cable landing stations to reduce bandwidth costs and improve internet services for consumers.
The seminar titled “Affordable Internet for All and Tech Giants' Investment in Bangladesh: Current Challenges and Ways Forward” was organised by the Telecom and Technology Reporters Network Bangladesh (TRNB) at the RAOWA Convention Hall in Mohakhali.
Mahmud Shahed, project head of private submarine cable company Metacore Subcom Limited, and Moin Uddin Ahmed, treasurer of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB), presented keynote papers on international connectivity, submarine cables and the country's digital infrastructure at the event with TRNB President Masuduzzaman Robin in the chair.
According to the presentations, BSCPLC has invested around Tk 819.5 crore in two submarine cable systems – SEA-ME-WE-4 and SEA-ME-WE-5.
The company generated more than Tk 3,000 crore in revenue and over Tk 1,362 crore in net profit between 2008 and 2026, according to the presentations.
Speakers argued that despite growing demand for international bandwidth, Bangladesh remains heavily dependent on a limited number of submarine cable connections and international routes.
They said stronger competition could further reduce bandwidth prices.
In 2006, BTCL sold 1 Mbps of international bandwidth for Tk 75,000. After BSCPLC began selling bandwidth, the price fell to Tk 500 by 2016 and to Tk 120 this year, according to the seminar presentations.
Speakers said private submarine cable investment and open competition could potentially bring the price of 1 Mbps down to Tk 60-70 by 2027, although such projections depend on market and infrastructure conditions.
Bangladesh currently uses around 13,500 Gbps of international bandwidth, the seminar was told.
Speakers also stressed that reliable international connectivity is increasingly important for attracting investments from global technology companies and hyperscalers, including Google, Meta, Akamai and Cloudflare.
They said limitations in international connectivity, concerns over uninterrupted power supply and the absence of stable and predictable policies are among the factors affecting investment in the country's digital infrastructure.
ISPAB proposed measures, including opening the submarine cable market to private investment, simplifying approval procedures for private submarine cables and ensuring carrier-neutral, non-discriminatory access to landing stations.
The association also called for access to multiple submarine cables and landing stations, greater domestic fibre sharing, expansion of internet exchange points (IXPs) and local peering, and rationalisation of taxes on broadband infrastructure and equipment.
The speakers said Bangladesh could strengthen its position as a regional digital infrastructure hub by improving competition, expanding international connectivity and adopting stable, predictable and technology-neutral policies.