Bangladesh internet users are facing service disruptions and slower speeds over several nights starting April 9, after the SEA-ME-WE-5 submarine cable consortium scheduled emergency maintenance work on the country’s second submarine cable system.
Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC announced that the maintenance — classified as a shunt fault repair on the SMW-5 system connected to the Kuakata landing station — will run from 10:00pm to 6:00am each night between April 9 and April 13, affecting approximately eight hours of connectivity per night. Traffic routed to Singapore through the SMW-5 system is most affected during the window.
BSCPLC confirmed that services will continue through the country’s first submarine cable, SEA-ME-WE-4, which is landed at Cox’s Bazar and will carry rerouted traffic during the maintenance period. The company expressed regret for the inconvenience and said it will coordinate closely with the consortium to complete the work within the scheduled timeframe.
Bangladesh relies on two submarine cables for its international internet connectivity — SMW-4 and SMW-5 — with the country’s vulnerability to cable disruptions a recurring infrastructure concern. The SMW-5 cable, which connects Bangladesh to Singapore and onward to Europe via the Middle East, supplies a significant share of the country’s international bandwidth.
Editor’s Note: This maintenance episode is a reminder of Bangladesh’s persistent submarine cable resilience gap — with only two landing stations at Cox’s Bazar and Kuakata, any disruption on either cable immediately stresses national connectivity. The country’s expected connection to SEA-ME-WE-6 remains a critical infrastructure milestone to watch; MEA Tech Watch has previously covered Bangladesh’s vulnerability to cable faults and the ongoing case for diversifying its international capacity.
