In a statement on Thursday, Palak said Bangabandhu-1 is going to reduce Bangladeshi TV channels’ dependence on satellites owned by foreign nations for their broadcasting services and therefore, save valuable foreign currency. At present, Bangladesh spends Tk 14 million a year on renting foreign satellites. Also, it will enable Bangladesh to provide services to foreign channels after meeting the demand at home and earn foreign currency, he said adding the government plans to dedicate half of the 40 transponders of the satellite to the local TV channels while remaining half will be deployed to serve the channels from other countries. The satellite was originally scheduled for launched on Dec 16 but the devastation from Hurricane Irma last year delayed all the scheduled launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Describing Bangabandhu-1 as an “ambitious yet timely initiative” of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as part of her government’s vision to build ‘Digital Bangladesh’ by 2021, Palak hoped it will be the first in a series of satellites to be launched by Bangladesh.

Source: bd News24 May 10, 2018 11:03 UTC