Anisul Islam Noor :
Bangladesh is going to have its first satellite ‘Bangabandhu-1’ at a cost of Tk 3,000 crore in order to develop its own telecommunication system, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) sources said.
To implement the project, BTRC invited the international tender on March 24 this year and the foreign companies have shown their keen interest in this project.
Companies from the USA, China, Canada and France have already collected necessary documents to participate in the international tender invited by the
BTRC on March 24 this year. Earlier, the BTRC, the project implementing body, had invited international tender to implement a geosynchronous satellite system with 40 transponders to provide quality communications and broadcasting services in the country. The government is set to build the country’s own satellite to 119.1 degree east longitude under the Bangabandhu-1 Satellite Project by late 2017.
An official said, the participating companies’ names should not be disclosed before June 2-tender opening day- because of tender rules’ obligation.
“However, I can say that all of those firms are very potential and well-known in the field of satellite building,” he noted.
The commission Secretary Md Sarwar Alam said, they have still more than a month to get more response from other firms as the last date of application is June 2.
According to the rules and regulations of the tender, the bidding companies must have 15 years working experiences in manufacturing commercial satellite system.
Eligible companies from any country which has diplomatic relationship with Bangladesh are eligible to participate in the tender process until the day, paying a non-refundable amount of $ 5,000.
He said, preliminary implementation activities are in progress with the consultation of USA-based firm Space Partnership International (SPI) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The secretary said, a sovereign country like Bangladesh needs its own satellite for the expected socio-economic development by reducing dependency on other nations.
He said, the proposed satellite has immense economic prospects as Bangladesh could lease over 50 per cent frequency of the proposed satellite to other neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Myanmar and Maldives.
The primary service area would be Bangladesh and neighbouring countries, and the secondary service area would be South-East Asia, Europe, and other East African countries depending on the orbital slot, secretary said.
By placing the satellite to the orbital slot, Bangladesh could save at least $ 14m every year, which is now being paid to different foreign companies by the country’s private television channels for broadcasting.
“It will reduce reliance on foreign satellites for cable channels and will improve telecom services to the remote areas, collect meteorological data for disaster warnings and map natural resources,” the official noted. He said, telecommunication system in Bangladesh has always been suffering from interruptions and problems as erratic disasters hit the country.
Bangladesh would be the latest in a series of least developed countries that embarked on its own satellite programme.
Bangladesh is going to have its first satellite ‘Bangabandhu-1’ at a cost of Tk 3,000 crore in order to develop its own telecommunication system, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) sources said.
To implement the project, BTRC invited the international tender on March 24 this year and the foreign companies have shown their keen interest in this project.
Companies from the USA, China, Canada and France have already collected necessary documents to participate in the international tender invited by the
BTRC on March 24 this year. Earlier, the BTRC, the project implementing body, had invited international tender to implement a geosynchronous satellite system with 40 transponders to provide quality communications and broadcasting services in the country. The government is set to build the country’s own satellite to 119.1 degree east longitude under the Bangabandhu-1 Satellite Project by late 2017.
An official said, the participating companies’ names should not be disclosed before June 2-tender opening day- because of tender rules’ obligation.
“However, I can say that all of those firms are very potential and well-known in the field of satellite building,” he noted.
The commission Secretary Md Sarwar Alam said, they have still more than a month to get more response from other firms as the last date of application is June 2.
According to the rules and regulations of the tender, the bidding companies must have 15 years working experiences in manufacturing commercial satellite system.
Eligible companies from any country which has diplomatic relationship with Bangladesh are eligible to participate in the tender process until the day, paying a non-refundable amount of $ 5,000.
He said, preliminary implementation activities are in progress with the consultation of USA-based firm Space Partnership International (SPI) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The secretary said, a sovereign country like Bangladesh needs its own satellite for the expected socio-economic development by reducing dependency on other nations.
He said, the proposed satellite has immense economic prospects as Bangladesh could lease over 50 per cent frequency of the proposed satellite to other neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Myanmar and Maldives.
The primary service area would be Bangladesh and neighbouring countries, and the secondary service area would be South-East Asia, Europe, and other East African countries depending on the orbital slot, secretary said.
By placing the satellite to the orbital slot, Bangladesh could save at least $ 14m every year, which is now being paid to different foreign companies by the country’s private television channels for broadcasting.
“It will reduce reliance on foreign satellites for cable channels and will improve telecom services to the remote areas, collect meteorological data for disaster warnings and map natural resources,” the official noted. He said, telecommunication system in Bangladesh has always been suffering from interruptions and problems as erratic disasters hit the country.
Bangladesh would be the latest in a series of least developed countries that embarked on its own satellite programme.
