Internet slowdown expected for three days

Internet service across Bangladesh may become slow for the next three days starting from Thursday night as maintenance and fault repair work begins on the country’s second submarine cable, CME 5. 

Partial disruptions may also occur during this period, according to the state-owned Bangladesh Submarine Cables Company Limited (BSCCL).

In a press release issued on Wednesday, the company stated that repair work on the ‘shut fault’ detected in the second submarine cable system, installed in Kuakata, would begin at 10 pm on Thursday. 

The work is scheduled to continue until 6 am on Monday, meaning it will last for three consecutive days and eight hours.

BSCCL said that the circuits heading to Singapore through this cable would be temporarily closed during the repair. As a result, customers may experience slower internet speeds or partial service disruptions, particularly affecting services that depend on international bandwidth.

However, the company assured that the country’s first submarine cable, CME 4, installed in Cox’s Bazar, would remain operational as an alternative. 

Therefore, the entire country would not be disconnected from the internet, although speeds may be slower than normal.

A notification signed by BSCCL General Manager (Operations and Maintenance) Mohammad Zakirul Alam said that efforts were being made to complete the work as quickly as possible through an international consortium. 

The authorities hope that the repairs will be finished within the scheduled time and normal internet services will be restored. 

BSCCL has expressed regret to its customers for the temporary inconvenience.