BPCS Consortium signs SLTE Supply Agreement with Nokia

In a significant step towards implementing Bangladesh's first private sector submarine cable project, Bangladesh Private Cable System (BPCS) Consortium has signed a contract with Nokia to supply Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE). The agreement was signed at a formal ceremony held at Le Meridien Hotel in the capital on Sunday (December 14) night.

Aminul Hakim, director of Metacore Subcom Limited; Arif Al Islam, managing director and CEO of Summit Communications Limited and Md. Mashiur Rahman, CEO of Cdinet Communications Limited signed the agreement on behalf of BPCS Consortium. Meanwhile, Prashant Malkani, head of sales unit, Nokia India, and Suman Prasad, senior sales account director, Nokia signed the deal on behalf of Nokia.

Nokia's Head of Emerging Business Givitesh Nayal, Marketing Manager Rahul Derwani, Account Manager Mohammad R. Islam and Nokia Bangladesh Head of Sales Christopher Samuel were also present at the event. In addition, the event was attended by Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh Michael Miller, Finnish Diplomat to India Dr. Antti Herlevi, Japanese Embassy Representative Daisuki Sukao and Mami Kobayashi.

BPCS Consortium officials said that currently the bandwidth usage in the country is about 9,000 Gbps. This demand will increase to approximately 20,000 Gbps by mid-2027 and will increase to about 50,000 Gbps by 2030. To meet this increased demand, it has become necessary to install three submarine cables through private sector initiatives.

In the meantime, entrepreneurs have invested about Tk600 crore. There are plans to launch another three-pair cable after June 2026 at a cost of about Tk1,200 to Tk1,300 crore.

Consortium sources said that currently more than 60 percent of the country's total bandwidth comes from India through the International Terrestrial Cable (ITC), due to which a huge amount of foreign exchange is flowing out every year. If the new three-pair submarine cable is launched on the Singapore-Cox's Bazar route, dependence on India will decrease and Bangladesh will move towards self-sufficiency in bandwidth.

Nokia's use of modern technology will make it possible to install equipment at lower power consumption and in fewer places, which will help reduce the space and operating costs of the data center. This will simplify network management and reduce overall costs. As a result, it is expected that the price of bandwidth will decrease in the future and the cost of internet services at the consumer level will also decrease. In addition, the parties concerned said that the use of Nokia's SLTE at both ends of the cable will ensure high-quality cyber security.