In his budget speech, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma announced that to keep pace with the State’s evolving IT landscape, a partnership with International Internet Gateway (IIG) project is being worked out, which will ensure reliable and high-speed internet connectivity via Bangladesh. This initiative is expected to boost the state’s rapidly growing IT sector and enhance digital infrastructure for the state.
Talking to Mediapersons, the Chief Minister provided insight into the technical aspects of the project, explaining that a submarine cable currently lands in Chittagong, Bangladesh, with Malaysian telecom companies, along with Bangladesh’s government and telecom agencies, overseeing its operations.
“We have spoken to Power Grid, or PowerTel, I should say the telecom wing of Power Grid, and using their towers along with the MePTCL towers, we are trying to get the link to the Gateway directly and bring it to the Shillong IT Park area, New Shillong area,” Sangma explained.
He added that the area will also be home to a state-of-the-art, three-tier data center and an integrated command control center, which will drive the state’s IT and digital ambitions forward.
The Chief Minister emphasized that once the submarine cables are in place, the state would be able to access high-quality internet at a competitive price. However, he acknowledged the challenges posed by the involvement of multiple agencies and governments. “The problem is that there are multiple agencies, multiple governments that are involved. Therefore, we have to really work hard, especially with the situation in Bangladesh. There are some hurdles we are facing,” he said, noting that while the initiative was initiated last year, it had been kept under wraps until the state had made tangible progress.
Sangma also highlighted the state’s ongoing efforts toward digital inclusion. He shared that the Government has managed to complete the construction of 98% of the planned telecom towers, ensuring 4G connectivity even in the remotest parts of our State.
“Today, nearly 89% of villages are connected through at least one telecom technology and we aspire to cover the balance villages and improve the bandwidth in the coming years,” he added.
With this strategic push, the last mile connectivity and broadband services are being strengthened in partnership with PowerTel using the transmission network of MePTCL.