Internet to Remain Slow for 5 Days

Internet access will remain slower than normal speed for the next five days as the Singapore-connected International Internet Gateway (IIG) operators have begun emergency maintenance from Monday midnight.

Bangladesh is connected to South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 (SMW4) underwater cable linking Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India and 11 other countries.

Talking to media, Internet Service Providers Association Bangladesh (ISPAB) President Aminul Hakim said the connection will remain slower than regular for maintenance of the international cable line.

"There is an upcoming emergency I2I circuit maintenance to be held from 12.30 am on October 26 to October 30 midnight," Hakim, also chief executive at AmberIT, said expressing hope that the connection will be restored by Saturday next.

The IIG operator confirmed that it will move traffic to other available routes in order to prevent disruption and added that maintenance is intended to avoid any unplanned outage in the immediate future.

The 18,800 kilometers long SWE-4 links Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria and France.

The total number of internet subscribers rose 8.3 percent to an all-time high of 108.2 million at the end of August compared to February's 99.9 million.