Bangladesh has granted approval to SpaceX’s Starlink to operate in the country, with commercial rollout of the satellite internet service expected within the next three months.
The satellite-based internet service will begin its first trial run on April 9 during the Bangladesh Investment Summit in Dhaka. The four-day event will host over 550 foreign investors from 50 countries, and the summit itself will be live-streamed using Starlink’s high-speed internet.
Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), confirmed on Sunday that Starlink received initial approval on March 29. The company is now expected to apply for a Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit (NGSO) license, the final regulatory step required before full-scale operations begin.
“The next step is obtaining the NGSO licence, and they will likely apply today [April 6]. We aim to issue the license as soon as they apply, following our rules and regulations. Once granted, they can begin commercial operations the very next day,” Harun said. (via BD News)
While the service’s initial rollout will rely on foreign satellite gateways, commercial operations will require local broadband infrastructure and Internet Exchange Providers (IXPs), in line with Bangladeshi regulations. Starlink’s arrival is expected to revolutionize internet access in remote and underserved regions of the country, helping to bridge the digital divide between urban centers and rural communities.
