Today marks more than five years since Bangabandhu Satellite started its commercial operations on May 19, 2019. They didn’t have any customers until October that year, but by October 2, 2019, all TV channels were broadcasting through Bangabandhu Satellite.

So, how far has this satellite come in these five years? What has it achieved?

As someone who uses and understands this technology, I’d say it has made great strides! Haters might call it flattery, but those who know about satellites will agree with me. The success of this satellite has far surpassed expectations, maybe even beyond what the Bangabandhu Satellite team realizes. They could have celebrated it much more.

Here’s the scoop on its success:

Bangabandhu Satellite is currently used by 8 countries, including Bangladesh, and broadcasts around 73 TV channels (considering different slots for each channel). Bangladesh Betar uses about 9 slots, which equals several TV channels’ slots. Each satellite has a specific capacity, usually measured by the number of transponders. Bangabandhu Satellite has 14 C-band transponders and 26 KU-band transponders, totaling 40. TV channels use the C-band, and Akash DTH uses the KU-band. The C-band capacity for TV and radio channels is almost fully utilized, and Akash DTH is using a lot of the KU-band. There are only a few satellites in the world with such high capacity usage, and Bangabandhu Satellite is one of them.

With so many customers and such high capacity usage, this satellite shouldn’t be running at a loss. You can easily figure out its income and expenses, and unlike other government sectors, there’s little chance of embezzlement here.

Now, about the failures:

Satellites are supposed to offer wireless broadcast systems, but Bangabandhu Satellite works through cable connections. Audio and video from each TV channel are sent via fiber optic cables to the satellite’s ground station, from where they are relayed. If there’s a problem with the fiber optic connection, the channel goes black. This has happened several times, with minor or major issues occurring daily. Recently, due to a problem in the fiber optic system, almost all TV channels in the country were off the air for over 20 minutes. Such incidents are almost unheard of globally.

This failure isn’t the satellite’s fault but is due to bureaucratic complexities. Even though the satellite is fully ready for wireless broadcasting, it’s stuck using cables due to the over-cautiousness of bureaucrats.

In the end, best wishes to Bangabandhu Satellite.
Note: I’m not affiliated with the Bangabandhu Satellite Company.