Summit Communications Ltd. is set to invest 7 billion for network expansion. With the investment, it aims to expand its network capacities, improve existing facilities, and build submarine cable networks. It is the country’s leading end-to-end infrastructure support provider with a Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN).
The company will collect the loan from eight local and foreign banks. They are Eastern Bank Ltd., Trust Bank Ltd., Standard Chartered Bank Ltd., Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC., Dhaka Bank Ltd., HSBC, Prime Bank Ltd., and Woori Bank Ltd. BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) has already given a nod.
Prime Bank will lead the way with the highest Tk 1.5 billion loans, followed by Trust Bank’s BDT 1.4 billion. The Eastern Bank and Dhaka Bank are set to inject Tk 1.0 billion each. Commercial Bank of Ceylon will provide Tk 860 million while HSBC and Woori Bank will contribute with Tk 700 million and Tk 332 million respectively. Standard Chartered Bank will join them with a minimum of Tk 168 million.
From the sources of the Financial Express, it has come to attention that the CEO of Summit Communications Ltd. Md. Arif Al Islam pointed to the funds expected to create and expand an undersea cable network. He also added that Summit had tried to raise money last year by issuing Tk 1.20 billion in non-convertible zero-coupon bonds and Tk 1.0 billion in mudaraba bonds to support their expansion plan. Still, those efforts had failed due to delays in the conventional approval procedure and legality.
The BTRC had already authorized another syndicated loan in June of last year for Tk330 crore Summit obtained from various banks. Through its 47,000 km of optical fiber, internet gateway, and tower-sharing plan, Summit Communications Ltd. offers services to mobile phone operators, ISPs, and the ICT sector.
Additionally, it recently became the first private company to be granted permission to construct and develop underwater cables, together with two other businesses. For reconstructing and expanding the subsea network, Summit is considering an official partnership with India or Japan through Reliance Jio Infocomm and NTT Ltd. They have also considered Campana of Singapore for the purpose.
The corporation is expected to receive 13,200 Gbps with the third underwater cable namely “SEA-ME-WE 6” by the year of 2025. BSCCL will spend 3.2 million US dollar to increase the capacity of its first underwater cable by more than four times to 4,600 Gbps.
Because according to the government vision they intend to the BSCCL’s capacity so that it can meet all the internal demand of bandwidth from national sources only. This vision includes adding bandwidth and default internet connectivity in 100,000 educational institutions by 2025.
