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Myanmar proposes Bangladesh to inter-connect submarine cable systemDHAKA, Jun 21, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Myanmar has proposed Internet inter- connectivity to Bangladesh allowing the two neighbors to use each other's submarine cable system in case of any side's cable failure, a senior official said here on Sunday. "Myanmar last week proposed us about its interest to use Bangladesh's submarine cable in case of the failure of its cable and in return Bangladesh could use Myanmar's system in a similar situation," Managing Director of the Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) Md Manwar Hossain told Xinhua on Sunday. He said the BSCCL, the state-owned public limited company, is studying the proposal of Myanmar before dispatching recommendations to the government's ministry concerned for final decision in this connection. "We'll make our decision to the government shortly," Hossain said. According to the proposal, he said, Myanmar, like Bangladesh, also has a single submarine cable and voice and data communications get disrupted in case of cable failure for any reason. Myanmar in its proposal said allowing one country to use the other's submarine cable in case of any side's network disruption will ensure smooth and uninterrupted telecommunications services for both countries. Another BSCCL official requesting to be unnamed said Myanmar's proposal seemed technically feasible as the Bangladesh submarine cable system was capable of carrying Myanmar Internet traffic without causing any disturbance to domestic users while the submarine cable system of Myanmar has the same capacity. It will be also financially viable, as both Bangladesh and Myanmar would connect each other at minimal cost, the official said. Bangladesh, connected to the global submarine cable system on May 21, 2006 at an approximate cost of 35.2 million U.S. dollars, is now working for the second submarine cable network. There have been a number of cases of disruption in the submarine cable system in Bangladesh in the last few years, which resulted in problems in information and communications system in the country. |