Work for ‘Bangabandhu-1″ satellite to begin in December

Work for launching and manufacturing Bangladesh’s first satellite “Bangabandhu-I” is going to start in December 16 this year.

French firm “Thales Alenia” has been chosen for the project.

State Minister for Posts and Telecommunication Tarana Halim said, “Our first satellite ‘Bangabandhu-I’ will be launched into the space on December 16, 2017.”

Four companies — Great Wall Industries Corporation of China, Thales Alenia of France, Orbital ATK of the United States, and MDA Corporation of Canada – had participated in the international tender called by the BTRC.

Officials said MDA Corporation became the lowest bidder with US$ 22 crore while Thales Alenia proposed US$ 24.80 crore. But, the telecom regulator selected Thales Alenia which came up much better than MDA Corporation in terms of technical specifications.

The Bangabandhu satellite will have 40 transponders, which would be able to serve SAARC countries, Indonesia, and the Philippines, as well as countries such as Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. One transponder is equivalent to 36 MHz.

Once launched, the satellite would save around Taka 110 to Taka 120 crore annually in foreign currency as broadcasting expenditure.