Bangladesh's BTCL and India's BSNL could complete a terrestrial cable connecting the two nations as early as the first week of November.
In a press conference attended by the Daily Star, BTCL's managing director, Absar Alam, revealed that the 25km backbone cable could be operational within four weeks.
BTCL will be ready to establish the link by then, and the schedule merely depends on whether BSNL will be ready in time, he said.
The link, between Darshana in Bangladesh and Krishno Nagar of India, will supplement SEA-ME-WE4 subsea cable, currently the only cable link between the two countries.
The project has a budget of 15 million Bangladeshi taka ($213,500). BSNL and BTCL inked the deal for the cable in November last year.
While the extra capacity y provided by the cable is likely to push down voice and data costs, local operators say they are still in the dark. Mir Telecom CEO Zahir Amed told the Star he did not know what prices would be charged.
MORE ARTICLES ON: Backhaul, Bangladesh, BSNL, BTCL, India, Mir Telecom, SEA-ME-WE4, Subsea cable