Cache servers allowed for all internet providers

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has allowed all internet service providers (ISP) to set up and use cache servers.

Cache servers are the local servers maintained by internet providers that let users retrieve contents from the nearest sources, instead of using the international bandwidth.

With this move, the BTRC repealed its 2021 directive that barred all ISPs other than the nationwide ones from having cache servers.

The regulatory decision forced all the local ISPs to shut their cache servers two years ago and only the international internet gateways, national internet exchanges, mobile operators and nationwide ISPs are maintaining their cache servers that let them save bandwidth.

Observers believed the regulator then shut down local ISPs' cache servers for easier control of internet content as it could block any content by controlling a handful of server operators, instead of monitoring hundreds of rural ISPs across the country.

Resumption of small ISPs cache servers would improve internet quality, said internet providers.

However, all cache server owners will need to submit detailed information about their servers to the BTRC every month. Alongside providing the cache server monitoring link to the BTRC, the server owners also need to notify the commission before they plan to upgrade or shift the location of the infrastructure.

Over two-thirds of the contents consumed in Bangladesh are cache server based.