M K Alam ; Dhaka – Passenger services at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) received a major digital boost today with the official launch of a free, high-speed Wi-Fi service.
The newly installed network is capable of supporting over 37,000 passengers simultaneously, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
Afroza Khanam, the Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, formally inaugurated the service at the airport on Sunday noon.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Fakir Mahbub Anam, M Rashiduzzaman Millat, and Rehan Asif Asad, the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology.
Speaking to journalists after the launch, Minister Afroza Khanam said, “In line with the government’s electoral commitment to ensure ‘fast and reliable internet for all,’ this modern digital service has been introduced for airport passengers.”
She also expressed optimism about the upcoming inauguration of the airport’s much-anticipated Third Terminal in the near future.
State Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat noted, “Through this advanced Wi-Fi infrastructure, more than 37,000 passengers can access the internet at the exact same time.”
He extended his gratitude to everyone involved in turning this initiative into reality.
Airport sources revealed that the robust Wi-Fi network blankets an expansive area of approximately 94,000 square meters.
The coverage spans across Terminal-1, Terminal-2, the Domestic Terminal, VIP and VVIP Terminals, as well as the car parking zones, ensuring seamless connectivity across almost all major operational parts of the airport.
To guarantee uninterrupted service, a total of 250 access points, 48 kilometers of optical fiber and Ethernet cables, and 37 access switches have been installed.
Each access point is built to handle up to 150 users concurrently. The entire network operates with a massive bandwidth capacity of up to 40 Gbps.
The system was initially opened on an experimental basis on April 26. Since then, around 20,000 passengers have already utilized the network, consuming a total of 2.3 terabytes (TB) of data during the trial period, officials added.