AGARTALA, March 11 (TIWN): State is all set to be a part of grand historic moment when Tripura will become the third internet gateway after Mumbai and Chennai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate 100 mw power supplies by remote control from Tripura’s Palatana project to Bangladesh on March 23. On the same day Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would provide 10 GB Internet bandwidth to Tripura. There would not be any formal function in the state to mark the occasion as the entire programme would be held through video-conferencing. However, once the internet bandwidth is inaugurated, Agartala, Tripura's capital city, would be the third international internet gateway in India after Mumbai and Chennai. It is to be mentioned here that the agreement for the internet bandwidth was initially signed for the tenure of four years. According to the agreement, India will gain 10 Gbps (gigabits per second) bandwidth in the first year and by the subsequent year it will go up to 40 Gbps per second.India-Bangladesh surplus under-sea internet bandwidth (10 Gbps) sale agreement was signed on June 2015 during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit at Dhaka in presence of Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina.

As per the agreement, Bangladesh government would allow the BSNL to use 10 GB Internet connectivity which could bring a revolution not only in the northeast but also some mainland states. 

The BSNL will have to pay Rs 7.2 crore annually to Bangladesh for using submarine cable laid at Cox Bazar.

According to the reports, Bangladesh has agreed to sell the unused submarine Internet bandwidth to the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for $ 1.2 million (Rs 7.7 crores) a year.

After the formal opening of international gateway of internet, Tripura will be third state which is having such gateway after Mumbai and Chennai. This will help the entire north eastern states.

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had laid the foundation of the project in Agartala on July 13, 2015 that aims at strengthening telecom services in the north eastern states.

Meanwhile, pricing of one unit of power was fixed at Rs 5.5 in a meeting between Tripura Power Minister Manik Dey and Bangladesh Minister of State for Power Nasirul Hamid on January 9 last in Dhaka.PGCIL erected 47 km long 400 kv double circuit transmission lines from Suryamaninagar powergrid near here to Comilla in Bangladesh.

The 726 MW gas based thermal power project at Palatana in Gomati district is run by ONGC Tripura Power Corporation (OTPC).