BTRC Revises IIG and ITC Guidelines to Balance Bandwidth and Boost Revenue
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has amended a key provision in the International Internet Gateway (IIG) license and International Terrestrial Cable (ITC) guidelines, aiming to create parity in bandwidth supply and revenue sharing between six Indian ITC companies and the state-owned Bangladesh Submarine Cable PLC (BSCCL). Industry experts emphasized the importance of making submarine cable bandwidth pricing more competitive and enhancing service speed.
Market analysts predict that the revised guidelines will reduce the import of ITC bandwidth from India, saving Bangladesh approximately $12 million annually. Additionally, government revenue from revenue sharing is expected to increase by BDT 108 million. The new framework is also expected to curtail tax evasion by major content providers like Facebook, Google, Akamai, and YouTube, who have been operating in Bangladesh while paying taxes in India. The changes may also push multinational internet service providers to consider establishing data centers within Bangladesh.
The amended IIG guidelines now require operators to support various interface speeds, including STM-1, STM-4, STM-16, STM-64, GE, and IP technology FE. The primary connection will be routed through International Long-Distance Communication (ILDC). In case ILDC is unavailable, up to 10% of the bandwidth can be backed up via satellite earth stations/VSAT. Each IIG operator must ensure that no more than 50% of their total internet traffic is routed through ITCs. Moreover, under Service Level Agreements (SLA), IIG license holders may secure adequate backup bandwidth via satellite with prior approval from the commission.
Md. Ariful Haque, Deputy General Manager of Sales and Marketing at BSCCL, stated, "We are ready to supply additional bandwidth. Under the revised structure, IIG operators can maintain up to 10% of their total bandwidth through satellite earth stations/VSAT as backup capacity until an alternative ILDC route becomes available."
The ITC guideline revisions also increased the revenue-sharing rate from 1% to 3%, aligning the cost of bandwidth supplied from ITCs with that of BSCCL. This change prevents IIGs from gaining undue advantages by sourcing bandwidth primarily through ITCs.
Regulatory sources revealed plans to further reduce bandwidth imports from India to 30% while increasing BSCCL’s submarine cable supply to 60%. The remaining 10% will be sourced via satellite.
Currently, about 60% of Bangladesh’s internet bandwidth is imported from India through ITCs, while BSCCL supplies the remaining 40%. Data shows that Bangladesh currently imports 4,500 Gbps from ITCs and 2,500 Gbps from BSCCL. Under the new regulations, bandwidth distribution is expected to balance at approximately 3,500 Gbps for both ITC and submarine sources.
