"Bangladesh could earn a huge amount of foreign currency every year by exporting software, but it is being deprived of such opportunity in absence of connectivity with the information superhighway," Managing Director and President of Alcatel South Asia Ravi Sharma told The Daily Star in an interview.

Sharma also said Bangladesh should better get prepared for the global software market before the country is connected with the SEA-ME-WE4 network.

State-owned Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) has joined a consortium of 13 countries, SEA-ME-WE4, to hook up its telecommunications network to the transoceanic submarine cable system by September 2005.

Alcatel has completed its work for the submarine cable landing station in Cox's Bazar to connect the country with the information superhighway.

Although Alcatel has finished its task, Bangladesh has to wait until the completion of the entire work to link Cox' Bazar with Chittagong through a fibre optic network. BTTB is now in the evaluation process to select a vendor to complete the linking work before September, when the network will be live.

The size of the country's software market is Tk 170 crore. The country exported software worth $ 7.2 million in the fiscal year 2004-05 while software export during the first six months (until December) of the outgoing fiscal stood at $ 5.29 million.

The Alcatel president said the level of talent of the Indians and the Bangladeshis is almost the same and the Bangladeshis are doing well.

Bangladesh is sitting on the threshold of growth and it has every potential for doing better in software, Sharma said adding that Bangladesh only lacks the connectivity, which is now a matter of time to get.

Sharma said expansion of broadband, which will also provide voice, data, cable television and internet facilities through one connection, could be a solution to the lack of connectivity.

Referring to the expertise of Alcatel in DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), he said the company produces ten DSL and ADSL ports in every second.

"Bangladesh should move faster and roll out broadband network," suggested Sharma, an engineer who has vast experience in telecommunications.

Referring to the benefits of telecommunications in GDP, he said it contributes six times higher in GDP than any other sectors.

Focusing on tremendous demand for cellular telephone in the country, Sharma said Bangladesh's cellphone sector would grow further beyond the estimates.

Regarding the market share of Alcatel in the country, he said Alcatel enjoys 50 percent market share in fixed line telephony.