The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has capped bandwidth imports from India at 50 percent of the country's consumption of 6500 Gbps to reduce reliance on a single source and promote diversified international connectivity.  

At present, about 60 percent of Bangladesh's bandwidth consumption is imported from India by IIG companies through International Terrestrial Cable (ITC) companies.  

Bangladesh Submarine Cable PLC (BSCPLC) now supplies 40 percent of bandwidth for internet.

BTRC Chairman Emdad ul Bari said the regulator aims to further reduce bandwidth imports from India to 30 percent while increasing the share of submarine cable-supplied bandwidth to 60 percent by BSCPLC.

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The remaining 10 percent would be sourced via satellite, he added.

The move comes through an amendment to the International Internet Gateway (IIG) guidelines, according to BTRC documents.  

Md Ariful Huq, deputy general manager for sales and marketing, BSCPLC, said they are prepared to supply additional bandwidth immediately.

Under the revised framework, IIG operators can maintain up to 10 percent of their total connected bandwidth as backup capacity via Satellite Earth Station/VSAT until an alternative International Long-Distance Communication (ILDC) route is available.  

A Satellite Earth Station refers to any ground station that communicates with satellites. 

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VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) is a specific type of satellite earth station that uses small dish antennas to transmit and receive data via satellite, typically used in remote areas where other internet access is limited.

Operators must adhere to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and obtain prior approval from the BTRC to secure backup bandwidth via satellite.