Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Net profits for the country’s lone Submarine Cable Company jumped 78.80 percent in the nine months to March 2013.
Profits jumped to BDT 719.20 million from July 2012 to March 2013, which was BDT 402.30 million in the same time last year, the Daily Star, a local newspaper, reported. 
The cable company’s profit is leapfrogging due to a gradual increase in demand for internet bandwidth. The Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) is the major supplier of international internet connectivity, said its top official.
Monwar Hossain, managing director of the company, said they are now selling a total of 42 gigabits per second (Gbps) bandwidth to different companies, which was only 7.5 Gbps in 2009.
Of the amount it sells, 30 Gbps is used for internet and the rest for international voice communication.
There are six other International Terrestrial Cables (ITC) that provide internet connectivity of around 15 Gbps, said Sumon Ahmed Sabir, chief strategic officer of Fibre@Home, an ITC service provider.
So the people of Bangladesh are using a total of 57 Gbps internet bandwidth for voice and data connectivity.
Submarine Cable Company basically provides international internet connectivity to the country’s internet and voice service providers, but recently it began the International Internet Gateway (IIG) service. It means that it will provide internet connectivity and bandwidth to different providers.
On Submarine Cable Company’s future plans, Hossain said they would sell internet bandwidth to the North-eastern provinces of India and earn handsome amounts of foreign currency, if they get a green signal from the government.
Last month, Indian high commissioner in Dhaka placed a proposal with the foreign ministry to hire internet bandwidth from Bangladesh through optical fibre cable connectivity.
Submarine Cable Company will also have another sub-sea cable ‘SEA-ME-WE 5′ connectivity by the first quarter of 2015, the company’s managing director added.
Currently the company is a consortium member of the 2,000 kilometres ‘SEA-ME-WE 4′.
 
BBN/SSR/AD-13July13-9:19 pm (BST)