The Bhutanese Leading the way.
As Bhutan doubles down on securing its digital future against potential blackouts and single-route vulnerabilities, the much-anticipated Third International Internet Gateway (3IIG) project is navigating regulatory checks with an eye toward an early 2027 operational rollout.
While the strategic project is primarily built to safeguard e-resilience, particularly for national nodes and high-growth developments like the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), there are questions around how the multimillion investments will affect data packet costs and everyday consumer affordability.
The question of affordability: Short-term investment, long-term savings
Addressing concerns over whether the new gateway will immediately cut data package prices for ordinary citizens and enterprises, an official from the GovTech Agency explained that while the infrastructure will enhance long-term sustainability, immediate cost cuts are tied closely to institutional mechanisms.
“The Third International Internet Gateway is a strategic national investment that will strengthen Bhutan’s international connectivity by diversifying existing routes, enhancing network resilience, and providing additional capacity,” an official from the GovTech Agency noted.
While acknowledging that the gateway’s establishment requires heavy investment which “may increase operational costs in the short term,” the agency emphasized that structural cost relief is already underway through parallel state channels.
According to the agency, the Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) initiative, currently being pursued via tender preparations for bulk bandwidth procurement under the ACCESS project aims to drive down connectivity costs on a long-term contract basis, which is “expected to contribute to improved affordability significantly”, the agency said.
“The current IRU arrangement is intended for government use, and if successful, we hope the operators will take inspiration to bring similar benefits to end-users and businesses,” an official from the GovTech Agency added.
Going by the response given, it means that the government believes that the procurement of bulk bandwidth through long-term contracts is the mechanism that should drive affordability.
The current IRU is limited to government use and only makes aspirational hopes that operators will “take inspiration to bring similar benefits to end-users and businesses.”
Clearing regulatory hurdles at the border
The tripartite venture involving Bhutan Telecom (BTL), India’s Airtel, and the Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) has largely moved past initial engineering roadblocks.
“There are no major technical challenges at this stage, as the necessary infrastructure from Bhutan to India, as well as the connectivity infrastructure within India and Bangladesh, has largely been completed,” an official from the GovTech Agency stated.
The project’s timeline now hinges entirely on formal clearances. Following a tripartite alignment meeting, Airtel formally requested permission from Indian authorities in March 2026 to execute a joint survey at the India–Bangladesh border. Although mid-April 2026 was originally targeted for the fieldwork, the process remains paused awaiting final regulatory green lights.
Once those approvals are cleared and the joint survey wraps up, operators expect the physical establishment of the cross-border fiber link and Point of Interconnection (PoI) to take roughly three months, placing full operationalisation by early 2027.
Core network ready and scalable
Critics tracking national network expansions often question whether domestic infrastructure can handle a fresh influx of bandwidth. However, GovTech Agency reassures that local core network requires minimal overhauling for day-one integration.
“Bhutan Telecom’s existing core network infrastructure is already capable of supporting and integrating the gateway’s initial 10 Gbps capacity into the national network,” an official from the GovTech Agency explained.
Because Bhutan’s aggregate international bandwidth already exceeds 100 Gbps, the additional 3IIG route will plug straight into existing backbone architectures, instantly widening redundancy margins against international disruptions without demanding immediate, massive core upgrades.
Ultimately, officials stress that the 3IIG transcends isolated digital programs, serving as the critical international backbone required to anchor domestic expansions like the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) masterplan and wider e-governance deliverables.
As the 3IIG awaits final clearances, a bigger responsibility sits with the Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA), the national regulator, which will seek to monitor and regulate the new internet gateway.
The paper has sent questions to the BICMA, and will be following up on how it will exercise its powers for tariffs, price regulation, maintaining fair competition and other regulatory frameworks.
