Bangladesh junks India's bandwidth supply transit plan for northeastern states

DHAKA: Bangladesh's internet regulator is abandoning its plan to allow the country to be the transit point for bandwidth supply to India's northeastern states on concerns that it could weaken the country's potential to become a regional internet hub, the Daily Star reported on Saturday.

The Bangladeshi newspaper said Summit Communications and Fiber@Home, the company that had applied to supply bandwidth from Singapore, via the Akhaura border to the northeastern region of India through Bharti Airtel, was headed by Muhammad Farid Khan, younger brother of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League presidium member and five-time MP Faruk Khan.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had last year sought the telecom ministry's permission for this project.

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