Bangladesh Private Cable System Consortium has signed an agreement with Nokia for the supply of Submarine Line Terminal Equipment, marking a major milestone in the country’s first private-sector submarine cable project on the Cox’s Bazar–Singapore route.
The agreement was signed on Sunday night at a ceremony held at Le Meridien Dhaka, according to a press release.
On behalf of the consortium, Metacore Subcom Limited CEO Aminul Hakim, Summit Communications Limited Managing Director and CEO Arif Al Islam and CDNet Communications Limited CEO Md Mashiur Rahman signed the deal.
Nokia India Head of Sales Unit Prashant Malkani and Nokia Senior Sales Account Director Suman Prasad signed the agreement on behalf of Nokia.
Other Nokia officials present at the ceremony included Nokia Head of Emerging Business Jibitesh Nayal, Nokia Marketing Manager Rahul Derwani, Nokia Account Manager Mohammad R Islam and Nokia Bangladesh Head of Sales Christopher Samuel.
The event was attended by European Union Ambassador Michael Miller, Finland diplomat Antti Herlevi, Japan Embassy representative Daisuke Sugawa and Mami Kobayashi.
Consortium members said Bangladesh’s current bandwidth usage stands at around 9,000 gigabits per second, which is projected to rise to about 20,000 gigabits per second by mid-2027 and nearly 50,000 gigabits per second by 2030.
They said the three private submarine cables under the consortium have become essential to meet the growing demand, adding that about Tk600 crore has already been invested in the project.
An additional Tk1,200 crore to Tk1,300 crore is planned to be invested to launch a three-pair cable after June 2026, the consortium said.
According to the consortium, more than 60 per cent of Bangladesh’s international bandwidth currently comes from India through international terrestrial cables, resulting in a significant outflow of foreign currency every year.
Once the Singapore–Cox’s Bazar three-pair cable becomes operational, dependence on India will decline and Bangladesh will move closer to bandwidth self-sufficiency, they said.
The consortium said Nokia’s technology would allow equipment to be installed in smaller spaces with lower power consumption, reducing data centre requirements and overall operational costs.
They said this would make network management easier and is expected to reduce bandwidth prices, ultimately lowering internet costs at the consumer level.
Nokia’s Submarine Line Terminal Equipment will be used at both ends of the cable, which the consortium said would ensure a high level of cyber security.
