Diplomatic Correspondent

In a tense atmosphere, the Interim Government of Bangladesh has withdrawn its decision to provide 'bandwidth transit' to India, according to an Indian media report.

New Delhi had applied for 'bandwidth transit' facilities using Bangladesh's territory to increase mobile internet connectivity in the northeastern Indian states.

But the proposal has been rejected by the 'Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission' (BTRC). Incidentally, the amount of information that can be sent per second is called bandwidth or data transmission speed. According to Anandabazar Patrika.

A source in the interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus says that this decision was taken out of fear that Bangladesh's role as a regional digital hub may be weakened.

The BTRC issued a guideline in this regard on December 1. During the Awami League government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's 'Summit Communications' and 'Fiber at Home' had applied to the BTRC for permission to establish a transit connection from Akhaura to Singapore with the Indian company 'Bharti Airtel Limited'. It also received initial approval.

The application proposed to establish this transit connection by setting up an internet circuit at the Akhaura border. But a BTRC source said that Bangladesh would not have benefited much from that transit connection if it had been laid on land using a terrestrial cable.

They claim that India would have benefited from the bandwidth. 'Summit Communications' and 'Fiber at Home' are close to the Awami League. Summit Communications Chairman Mohammad Farid Khan, younger brother of Awami League Presidium member and five-time MP from Gopalganj-1 constituency Faruk Khan, is also a close associate of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son and former ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy.