The telecom regulator has recently recommended the government award a new national internet exchange (NIX) licence to Level3 Carrier, an internet gateway operator, brushing aside market operators' appeal not to issue such licences anymore.

NIX, a consortium of internet service providers, carries internet traffic from one user to another within Bangladesh without using international routes. It saves bandwidth.

To get this benefit, ISPs have to be a member of the consortium.

Last year, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission awarded such licences to Bangladesh Internet Exchange Trust and Novocom.

But these two licensees are now struggling, as most internet business entities are still unaware of the benefits of using NIX, an industry insider said.

When a user sends an email, for example, from Gulshan to Motijheel, the mail travels through international

gateways and again returns to the country’s domain, if the ISP is not connected with a local NIX.

NIX reduces costs, but too many licences will increase the costs of the service providers, said Sumon Ahmed Sabir, chief strategy officer of Fiber® Home, an international gatewayoperator.

The two existing internet exchanges use 7.5 Gbps of bandwidth. "It means the exchanges are saving the cost of using 7.5 Gbps of international bandwidth.”

The cost of around 12 Gbps to 15 Gbps of international bandwidth could be saved if all the ISPs start using the local routes, Sabir said.

The IIG Association of Bangladesh has recently requested the regulator not to award NIX licences anymore, according to Sarwar Alam Sikder, president of the platform.

"People of Japan are very tech-sawy, but they have only one NIX to serve the entire country. For a small country like Bangladesh, too many NIX licences will only create problems," Sikder said.

Other platforms related to the ISPs also made the same call.