An investigative report by Amar Desh alleges that Bangladesh’s submarine cable licensing process was subject to political influence and irregularities during Sheikh Hasina’s administration. It says a Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission meeting in October 2020, chaired by then minister Mostafa Jabbar and attended by Sajeeb Wazed Joy, issued directions on private-sector licences. Three private submarine cable licences were later awarded in 2022.

The report says licensing guidelines were amended and application deadlines extended twice without a proper assessment of bandwidth demand or expert opinion. Summit Communications ranked first, CDNet second and Metacore third. It alleges political connections involving the ownership of the licensed firms. Fiber at Home CEO Suman Ahmed Sabbir said the licensing process was not correct and should be reviewed.

The report further alleges that the three licensees formed a joint consortium despite no such provision in the guidelines. It says they installed three fiber pairs instead of the required six and implemented only the eastbound Cox’s Bazar-Singapore route, without a westbound connection. BTRC Chairman Major General (retd) Emad ul Bari said no such complaint had reached him.