Bangladeshi telecom operator Robi Axiata has launched the country’s first commercial Tier-IV data center to meet the growing demand for data storage due to increased internet usage and digitalization. The subsidiary of Axiata Group spent $13 million to establish the data center at the Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park in Jashore.
This is the third data center under the group’s portfolio in Asia, with others in Sri Lanka and Nepal. Robi is shifting its focus from being a telecommunications company to a technology company and has already established subsidiaries like r-Ventures, Red.Digital, and Axentec.
The new data center, named Cypher, received “Tier-IV Certification of Design Documents” from the “Uptime Institute,” ensuring high standards for fault tolerance and redundancy. It boasts a “2N+1” power control system for uninterrupted power supply and a 30-minute IPS battery backup with an AI-based cooling system.
Located in Jashore due to low land rent and flexible facilities, Cypher is designed to withstand natural disasters with minimal risk. Robi guarantees an uptime of 99.995% and implements security measures like biometric access control and 24/7 surveillance.
The data center was inaugurated by the State Minister for Telecom and ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak. Private capital, both domestic and foreign, is increasingly invested in data centers in Bangladesh, with over Tk 5,200 crore already invested or in the process, half of which comes from overseas sources.