The Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) has signed an agreement with Beximco Digital Distribution Limited (BDDL) under which BDDL will use Bangabandhu Satellite-1 (BS-1) to distribute eight foreign clean-feed pay TV channels in Bangladesh. With this agreement, BDDL will be the first and the only foreign pay TV channel distributor to avail of downlinking services from BS-1, according to a media statement. Md Shafiqul Islam, managing director of BSCL, and Jamanul Bahar of BDDL signed the deal in Dhaka Thursday. "The most predominant form of TV distribution is currently through millions of analogue cable connections which have no protection for consumers, limited capacity to carry channels, poor picture quality, lack of service, lack of addressability and no interactive services and critically rampant with piracy related to the TV channels which leads to the government deprived of substantial taxation income and lower revenues for broadcasters," Shayan F Rahman, chairman of BDDL, said. "The conversion from analogue to digital television broadcasting will provide newer and more secure ways of distribution of content which include cable, IPTV, OTT and DTH," he added. Read more:Star channels are now available in AKASH DTH

The government has started the connection work of Bangabandhu Satellite-1 to keep telecommunication and internet services active in the flood affected areas on Sunday. Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) has set up a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Hub in Sylhet Hi-Tech Park following the directives of Post and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar. To ensure telecommunication services in the flood-affected areas of Sylhet and Sunamganj districts, 12 VSAT equipment were handed over to the Bangladesh Army on Saturday. VSAT hubs will be set up in Netrokona and North Bengal today. Read: Floods: India extends "support, solidarity" to Bangladesh Besides, preparations are underway to hand over 23 more sets of VSAT equipment to the Sylhet Divisional Commissioner office. Bangabandhu Satellite-1 will also be able to activate the mobile phone network as per the requirement of mobile phone operators. The Post and Telecommunications Division has also launched 12 toll-free helpline numbers for the flood-affected people. The toll free numbers are- Grameenphone -01769177266, 01769177267, 01769177268, Robi- 01852788000, 01852798800, 01852804477, Banglalink- 01987781144, 01993781144, 01995781144, and Teletalk- 01513918096, 01513918097, 01513918098.

The Bangladesh government has already taken the initiative to build and launch Bangabandhu Satellite-2, Telecommunications and ICT Minister Mustafa Jabbar has said. "Work has already started to implement the launch of Bangabandhu Satellite-2. The government is determined to develop and launch the satellite within the stipulated time, as promised in our party's election manifesto," the Minister said on Wednesday night. Also read: Regulator shouldn't allow monopoly in MFS: Mustafa Jabbar He was speaking at a virtual event organised by Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) to mark the fourth anniversary of the launch of Bangabandhu Satellite-1. "Experts are working to determine whether Bangabandhu Satellite-2 will be a communication satellite or an earth observation or weather satellite," the Minister said. Other speakers at the event hailed Bangabandhu Satellite-1 as a milestone in the space history of Bangladesh and also discussed its success and benefits. "May 12, 2018, was the day to fulfill the dream of Bengalis to conquer space. On that day, the country's first communication satellite Bangabandhu Satellite-1 was launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Station in the US. Bangladesh has been enlisted as the 57th satellite-launching nation in the world," the Minister said. Also read: Bangladesh no longer needs to import 4G handsets: Mustafa Jabbar   BSCL Chairman Shahjahan Mahmud presided over the virtual event, while BSCL acting Managing Director Mohammad Abdul Hannan presented the key address.

Akash, the country’s first and only legal Direct to Home (DTH) service provider, and Evaly, an e-commerce marketplace, have signed an agreement to help customers purchase Akash’s connectivity services from Evaly.   DS Faisal Hyder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Beximco Communications Ltd, and Shamima Nasrin, chairman of Evaly, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations at a hotel in the capital on Tuesday.   Beximco Communications’s Chief Financial Officer Md Luthfor Rahman, Head of Sales and Distribution and Strategic Sales Shah Mohammad Maksudul Gani, Head of Marketing and Business Development Muhammad Abul Khair Chowdhury, Head of Business Planning and Supply Chain Zia Hasan Khan and Head of Strategic and Direct Sales Rezaur Rahman and Mohammad Rassel, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Evaly were present on the occasion.

AKASH DTH, the country’s legal broadcaster of popular channels of STAR, is distributing Star Plus, Star Gold, Star Jalsha, Jalsha Movies, National Geography, Star Bharat, and Star Sports.   AKASH DTH says it has the government’s permission to broadcast Star channels while unscrupulous businessmen are using illegal Indian DTH connections in Bangladesh for redistributing various channels.   AKASH users can purchase a monthly subscription of AKASH Standard with 120+ channels, including 40+ HD, for Tk 399 and AKASH Lite with 70+ channels, including 20 HD channels, for Tk 249 under the regular and basic connections. All channels are legal and approved by the government, it said in a press release.   AKASH DTH’s Head of Marketing & Business Development Muhammad Abul Khair Chowdhury said, “We’re fully committed to delivering the best experience of TV viewing to the country’s people complying with all relevant rules and regulations.” He said they pay 15 percent VAT to the government on their service and paid all necessary duties and taxes for each Customer Premise Equipment (CPE)/devices that are imported and sold to customers.   He said the sector could be a big source of VAT for the government.   AKASH DTH started to provide its service using the feed of the Bangabandhu satellite-1 from May last year. It is available in all 64 districts and can be viewed from any corner of Bangladesh with the same quality. AKASH is unique for uninterrupted and quality TV watching, the company says.