India’s push for faster internet connectivity in the Northeast has encountered a significant setback, as Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, reversed a decision made by the previous Sheikh Hasina administration.
The move, which allowed private telecom operators to use Bangladesh as a transit point for supplying bandwidth to India’s connectivity-challenged region, has now been rescinded.
The deal had aimed to utilise the Akhaura border, situated between India and Bangladesh in Tripura, as a transit route for connecting the region to Southeast Asia through Bharti Airtel’s network.
Currently, India’s Northeast is linked to Singapore via submarine cables in Chennai, which are about 5,500 km away.
This distance has resulted in compromised internet speeds, further exacerbated by the region’s mountainous terrain, which complicates the installation and maintenance of fibre optic networks.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) withdrew approval for the proposal, expressing concerns that it would undermine Bangladesh’s aspirations to become a regional internet hub and diminish its role in the global data exchange network.
“Ultimately, the bandwidth from India will end up in India, reducing Bangladesh to merely a transit point,” Aminul Hakim, president of the Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum, told The Daily Star.
Summit Communications Ltd. and Fiber@Home, two leading telecom players in Bangladesh, had sought permission from BTRC to facilitate bandwidth transit from Singapore to India’s northeastern states.
The deal, however, was seen to favour India’s telecom providers, diminishing Bangladesh’s prospects in the digital infrastructure race.
The decision also signals growing scrutiny over political ties within Bangladesh’s telecom sector. Summit Communications, led by Muhammad Farid Khan, the younger brother of senior Awami League leader Faruk Khan, has been at the centre of controversy.
This includes a decision in September to waive a 5.5 percent fee on share transfers, which critics argue was politically motivated.
The BTRC’s reversal comes amid growing tensions within the Bangladeshi telecom industry, with the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) freezing the bank accounts of several Summit executives, including Farid Khan and his family, as part of an investigation into potential financial misconduct and money laundering.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s upcoming visit to Dhaka, scheduled for 9 December, adds further diplomatic weight to the situation.
Misri is expected to meet with Bangladeshi officials to discuss regional security and trade relations, amidst ongoing concerns over the treatment of minorities in Bangladesh, including Hindus.
The regulatory reversal follows heightened tensions between India and Bangladesh, particularly following an incident earlier this week where protesters breached the premises of Bangladesh’s Assistant High Commission in Agartala, damaging the national flag.
This led to the suspension of visa services and a diplomatic protest by Bangladesh.
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