Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the commercial transmission of local television channels through the country’s first satellite Bangabandhu Satellite-1.
The PM handed over the transmission rights to the TV station owners in a program at Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel in the capital.
Information Minister Hasan Mahmud, Post and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar, telecom Secretary Ashok Kumar Biswas, Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Ltd Chairman Shahjan Mahmood and Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO) President Anjan Chowdhury were present on the occasion.
The government has offered a discounted rate for the local TV stations so that they feel encouraged to use the country’s own satellite.
The Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company sources have said that for the next one year the company is offering Tk1.57 lakh per MHz spectrum per month, down from its original offer of Tk1.95 lakh.
Earlier, most of the TV channels were taking the service from Hong Kong-based Star Alliance to which they used to pay around Tk3.50 lakh to Tk4 lakh.
According to insiders, Star Alliance is now also offering discounted rate to the Bangladeshi TV channels in a bid to stay in competition with the BCSCL.
Launched in may 2018, the total expenditure of the Bangabandhu Satellite 1 was Tk2,000 crore and as per the project proposal, the cost will be recovered in eight years.
On October 21, 2015, the Cabinet Purchase Committee approved the project to buy the satellite system.
Later, BTRC signed a deal involving Tk2,000 crore with French company Thales Alenia Space for the construction of Bangladesh’s first-ever satellite Bangabandhu-1.
The satellite was launched into the orbital slot at 119.1 degree east longitude. The slot was bought from Russian satellite company “Intersputnik” for $28 million in January 2015.