Bangladesh’s SMW-5, one of the country’s main international submarine internet cables, resumed operation after being disconnected for about two and a half hours. Both eastern and western connections of the cable were fully cut at around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 15, and service was restored at around 2 p.m. The restoration eased immediate fears of a major nationwide internet disruption.

During the outage, many customers experienced slower internet speeds, delays accessing foreign websites and servers, and temporary difficulties using online platforms. International server-based work, online meetings, gaming and file downloads were affected. Internet service providers had to divert traffic through alternative routes, while customers of providers able to move connections quickly to backup lines faced comparatively fewer problems.

Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC said it could not immediately provide an estimated repair time because it was awaiting information from the main consortium. An initial assessment suggested a possible problem with power supply or equipment at the landing station in Matara, Sri Lanka, but the final cause has not been confirmed. Bangladesh also has SMW-4 and multiple international terrestrial cable connections with India, which served as backup capacity. BSCPCL is awaiting the consortium’s final fault report.