Bangladesh not to route internet to India’s northeastern states: Report

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has withdrawn a proposal floated last year to enable faster internet connectivity to seven northeastern states, citing concerns that it could 'weaken' the country's potential to become a regional internet hub.

The project aimed to supply bandwidth from Singapore via Akhaura in Tripura, through Bharti Airtel, using Bangladesh as a transit point, according to Bangladesh ‘The Daily Star’ newspaper report.

The internet regulation authority also wrote to the country’s telecom ministry recently to recall its application for this project – which involved companies owned by people linked closely to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party – that it had submitted last year.

Two years ago, when Hasina was in power, Bharti Airtel had applied to Bangladesh’s foreign ministry for permission to connect Tripura’s capital Agartala through Akhaura, a border on the Tripura-Bangladesh border, to Bangladesh’s submarine cable landing stations in Cox’s Bazar and Kuakata to reach Singapore.

As part of this project, Bangladesh would serve as the transit route to enable faster internet for seven states in India’s northeast – Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.

Currently, the internet in the Northeast is connected to Singapore through submarine cables in Chennai using the domestic fiber optic network. The now-shelved project would decrease the distance involved in the transit of bandwidth, and this would guarantee faster internet access to the Northeast.

Last year, two Bangladeshi companies Summit Communications and Fiber@Home applied to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to supply bandwidth from Singapore to India’s northeastern states, via the Akhaura border through Bharti Airtel. Subsequently, the BTRC had also sought permission from the country’s telecom ministry for this project.

However, the BTRC has now rejected the proposal to transit bandwidth to India’s northeast via Bangladesh, because it would “weaken” Bangladesh’s potential to become a regional internet hub.

“Bangladesh’s position as a regional hub will be weakened due to this transit. This will establish India as a strong hub here,” Daily Bangladesh quoted the BTRC as saying.

Mohammed Emdad ul Bari, chairman of the BTRC was quoted as saying “Guidelines do not permit such ‘transit’ arrangements”. The BTRC also wrote to the Bangladesh telecom ministry last week to recall its application for the proposal. The project would also prevent Bangladesh from providing internet services to parts of Myanmar and northwestern China through its own infrastructure, according to Daily Star.

Close links to Awami League

The two communications companies involved in the project in Bangladesh have close links to the Awami League – one of Bangladesh’s major political parties.

The current president of the Awami League is Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted from power following violent mass uprisings in Bangladesh in August this year. Hasina was forced to flee to India, where she still continues to reside while her plans to seek asylum in the United Kingdom faced a “technical roadblock."

Muhammad Farid Khan, the chairman of Summit Communications is the younger brother of Awami League presidium member Faruk Khan, who is also a five-time member of parliament. The Chairman is also allegedly close to Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Hasina’s son who also used to advise her on information and communication technology affairs during her reign.

Also, according to The Daily Star, Fiber@Home was a major beneficiary during the rule of the Awami League from 2009 to 2024, and ranked second to Summit Communications in terms of major government contracts and licenses won.