Bhutan to have cheaper and faster internet services as Indian Government agrees to provide Third Internet Gateway
In what has been one of the major accomplishments of the two-day visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to Bhutan from 29-30 April 2022, India has in principle agreed to provide Bhutan the Third Internet Gateway at the rate proposed by Bhutan. This was communicated by Bhutan’s foreign minister Dr. Tandi Dorji, to the Bhutanese media, on May 6, 2022.
However, Dr. Tandi said that the Indian government has not yet confirmed the exact rate. Nonetheless, the rate per Mbps(megabits per second) will be less than USD 5, less than the USD 7 per Mbps that Bhutan is currently paying for the Internet connection through the Siliguri corridor.
The foreign minister also said that initially the government of India was not very positive about Bhutan’s proposal as the rate Bhutan proposed was lesser than what their states were paying. However, Lyonpo said that arriving at this rate is historic and a “big achievement,” whose benefits would be realized by Bhutan in a couple of years.
Lyonpo said he is pleased to inform that, as everyone is aware, Bangladesh has provided Bhutan with a very good friendship rate of USD 3 per mbps. “It was more than USD 10 per mbps to begin with, and we kept requesting and expecting the Indian side to give us for USD 1 to 1.5 per mbps because we assumed that all of the other expenses were related to the lines, power line, and all of these were already established,” Lyonpo said, adding that it wasn’t possible and, as in their own states too, it wasn’t that low.
“We continued to negotiate, and we are pleased to say that External Affairs Minister Dr
Jaishankar has stated that they will support and provide at the rate that we have requested,” Lyonpo said.
Dr. Tandi expressed the government’s gratitude to the Indian government for the gesture, including the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj. “We are also grateful to Bangladesh for the friendship rate which is much lower than their local rates,” he said.
Lyonpo said that a separate connection was required as the current Internet connections are through the Siliguri corridor and in the event of an internet shutdown. Moreover, the new gateway would benefit the eastern parts of the country including rural Bhutan immensely.
Adding on to it, Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering, said Internet is meant to be free and the country should push to reduce the data charges and enhance access to the Internet.
In what has been one of the major accomplishments of the two-day visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to Bhutan from 29-30 April 2022, India has in principle agreed to provide Bhutan the Third Internet Gateway at the rate proposed by Bhutan. This was communicated by Bhutan’s foreign minister Dr. Tandi Dorji, to the Bhutanese media, on May 6, 2022.
However, Dr. Tandi said that the Indian government has not yet confirmed the exact rate. Nonetheless, the rate per Mbps(megabits per second) will be less than USD 5, less than the USD 7 per Mbps that Bhutan is currently paying for the Internet connection through the Siliguri corridor.
The foreign minister also said that initially the government of India was not very positive about Bhutan’s proposal as the rate Bhutan proposed was lesser than what their states were paying. However, Lyonpo said that arriving at this rate is historic and a “big achievement,” whose benefits would be realized by Bhutan in a couple of years.
Lyonpo said he is pleased to inform that, as everyone is aware, Bangladesh has provided Bhutan with a very good friendship rate of USD 3 per mbps. “It was more than USD 10 per mbps to begin with, and we kept requesting and expecting the Indian side to give us for USD 1 to 1.5 per mbps because we assumed that all of the other expenses were related to the lines, power line, and all of these were already established,” Lyonpo said, adding that it wasn’t possible and, as in their own states too, it wasn’t that low.
“We continued to negotiate, and we are pleased to say that External Affairs Minister Dr
Jaishankar has stated that they will support and provide at the rate that we have requested,” Lyonpo said.
Dr. Tandi expressed the government’s gratitude to the Indian government for the gesture, including the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj. “We are also grateful to Bangladesh for the friendship rate which is much lower than their local rates,” he said.
Lyonpo said that a separate connection was required as the current Internet connections are through the Siliguri corridor and in the event of an internet shutdown. Moreover, the new gateway would benefit the eastern parts of the country including rural Bhutan immensely.
Adding on to it, Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering, said Internet is meant to be free and the country should push to reduce the data charges and enhance access to the Internet.
