Decks have been cleared for Agartala to become the third internet gateway of the country after Mumbai and Chennai, with signal tests from the submarine cable of Cox Bazar in Bangladesh giving expected results.
According to The Sentinel, the signal tests were conducted in presence of the General Manager of the Bangladesh Telecommunications Limited Sahidul Alam and the General Manager of the BSNL’s Tripura circle Rabi Chanda.
Bangladesh’s lone submarine cable operator, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL), has already connected 10 GBPS bandwidth with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) cable last week at the Akhaura integrated check post.
They said all preparations are completed and they are awaiting green signals of the governments of both the countries for formal launching of the service.
Chanda said BSNL is now offering free SIM cards to the users of Tripura for availing the service.
According to Sentinel sources, both the service providers are planning to make the inauguration a gala event and the Prime Ministers of both the countries Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina Wajed are expected to attend the function at Akhaura checkpost sometime in January.
Once the service is launched, Agartala will become the third internet gateway of the country after Mumbai and Chennai.
The work for internet connection through Bangladesh was kicked off in July last year in presence of Union Telecommunication minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The Rs 19.1- crore project was completed within a span of five months.
A team of BTCL led by its general manager Sahidul Alam met BSNL officials on Saturday to review the work and expressed satisfaction.
The ministry of Telecommunication has been prioritizing the project to strengthen telecom network in the Northeast and Eastern India to bring investments in information technology.
Moreover, the Digital India initiative of the present government has also increased the pressure on existing international gateways in Chennai and Mumbai, which the Tripura gateway is expected to relieve to a large extent.