The eagerly anticipated third internet gateway is 90% finished following nearly ten years of discussions with Bangladesh and India. However, cross-border right-of-way concerns have caused the project’s final stages to stall. Officials from Bhutan have asked their counterparts to move quickly on the remaining procedures. By providing a distinct international route, lowering reliance on a single link, and acting as a vital safety net, the new gateway is anticipated to improve Bhutan’s internet resilience and dependability. Bhutan Telecom Limited and BSNL were initially involved in the project. Through Bogaigaon and Agartala in India, the gateway was supposed to link Gelephu in Sarpang with Cumilla and Kuakata in Bangladesh before continuing on to Singapore.
At the moment, Bhutan pays USD 7 per Mbps for internet access via the Siliguri corridor. Bhutan Telecom, Tashi Infocomm, and NANO are now the country’s three main internet service providers; they all rely on international gateways via India’s Siliguri corridor. 12th Plan prioritized the establishment of a third international internet gateway from Bangladesh, however the project never came to fruition. Additionally, the PM declared that the Cabinet had authorized plans to cut data prices by 50% and instructed telecom providers to put the plan into effect. But no deadline has been established for this modification.
