DSE brokers breathe easy as internet connectivity is restored

Stock brokers in Dhaka have resumed trading operations just in time following a swift repair of severed internet cables.

The disruption happened when authorities cut down cables in Motijheel in a bid to declutter the tangled mess of overhead wires.

This unexpected outage initially cast a shadow of uncertainty over Wednesday’s trading activities.

The restoration enabled the brokerage firms to commence trading at their scheduled times, averting potential disruptions to the financial market.

The Dhaka South City Corporation launched a drive on Tuesday evening to remove the overhead cables hanging on both sides of the road from Motijheel to Tikatuli.

Most of the wires removed from the road were installed by internet service providers and cable TV operators.

The brokerage house operators in the area were sweating over share transactions on Wednesday as they suffered an internet outage after the cables were cut off during the drive.

However, the ISPs began working to repair the connections early on Wednesday. Most of the customers started to get their connection back around 10:00 am.

The Stock Exchange Building in Motijheel and neighbouring brokerage houses started trading on time around 10:00 am after they got the internet connections back.

“I am feeling relieved now after getting the connection back. I hope we will get a lasting solution to the issue soon,” said DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh President Saiful Islam.

“We (ISPAB) have approval now to lay the cables underground instead of overhead wires. We can use the system in an area spanning three kilometres,” said Emdadul Haque, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh.

The ISPAB has already completed a pilot project to lay underground internet cables in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area.

The agency needs approval from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to launch similar projects in important areas like Motijheel.

The ISPAB president said the agency had met State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak and discussed a lasting solution to the issue with him.

However, the state minister assured speedy approval of the underground cable installment after visiting the project already launched in Dhanmondi.

After the return of the internet connection, trading on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) crossed the Tk 3 billion mark in the first hour on Wednesday. The main index, DSEX increased by 6,177 points.