First Private Internet Gateway to Start June 25 2008

First Private Internet Gateway to Start June 25 2008

Bdnews24.com

The first private International Internet Gateway (IIG) is set to start operating in Bangladesh from June 25.

Chairman of Mango Teleservices Ltd, A Mannan Khan, told bdnews24.com that two points-of-presence (POPs), or access points to the Internet, will be installed in Dhaka and Chittagong in the first phase of operations, to be expanded later.

Mango Teleservices, a unit of Dhaka-based Communication Solution Limited, set up the IIG in partnership with multinational corporation Cisco Systems, Inc.

Khan said Cisco would work as a technology solution provider and help Mango provide cost efficient and quality Internet solutions.

Rajesh Chainani, senior vice president of Cisco India and SAARC, told bdnews24.com from Delhi by telephone, "It has been proven that access to high quality bandwidth helps transform the economy of a country."

Mango Teleservices won its IIG license by open tender from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Feb 25, 2008.

The IIG operator will give internet service providers and businesses high speed, high bandwidth international connections through its network, and claims the network architecture is built with the capacity to accommodate 100-fold internet traffic growth in Bangladesh.

Mango's IIG will be connected with the existing submarine cable as its main link and with the Satellite Earth Station/VSAT as its back up until another submarine cable is available.

"Our goal is to deliver the most advanced network infrastructure that enables Mango to roll out services to customers in a timely and cost effective manner," said Rajesh Chainani.

"We believe demand for internet bandwidth in Bangladesh will grow up to nine times within next five years."

The information and communication market has mushroomed in Bangladesh as Internet bandwidth became cheaper with the recent introduction of submarine cable connections.

But at present maximum Internet connectivity speeds are still less than two gigabits per second, with very low Internet penetration of 0.35 percent in 2007 against the Asian average of more than 12 percent.

Mango claims its end customers will get high gigabit connectivity to their network, accommodating multiple-10 gigabits Internet connectivity.

"The IP backbone requirement in Bangladesh is expected to increase to 20 gigabits per second within the next 3 years," said Chainani.

"With Mango rolling out services across Bangladesh, we are confident that this will have a positive impact on the economy and GDP growth of the country. It is a globally proven fact," he added.