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Musk’s Starlink to make entry to Bangladesh
The government decided to award licence to the satellite internet provider
MAHMUDUL HASAN
The government has decided to award a licence to Starlink, operated by American aerospace company SpaceX, the brainchild of billionaire Elon Musk, in a development that could create some competition in the internet business in Bangladesh.
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation which provides broadband connections to people in over 60 countries.
“I have told the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to provide a licence to Starlink,” Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for telecom and ICT, told The Daily Star yesterday.
“We want to provide equal internet services to people in cities and villages. This will ensure internet connection in remote areas, especially villages, chars and islands,” he added.
The decision came at Palak’s first meeting with the BTRC after he was entrusted with the responsibilities of the Posts and Telecommunications Division following Mustafa Jabbar’s resignation from the post last week.
Starlink’s arrival in areas with traditional telecom and cable internet will foster competition, potentially leading to improved service quality and expanded access.
As the satellite-based infrastructure enables connectivity in regions where traditional telecom and cable services struggle to reach, it can empower people in remote locations by providing them with high-speed internet, thereby unlocking educational, economic, and communication opportunities.
However, as mobile internet and broadband have already permeated almost all areas of Bangladesh, commercial success is likely to be limited.
The cost of the Starlink internet is also prohibitively high in the context of Bangladesh, costing about $120 per month in most locations while the initial hardware costs reach up to $599, according to its website.
From local ISPs, 5mbps broadband costs about Tk 500 per month while mobile internet costs Tk 400-500 per 30GB.
Earlier, SpaceX expressed its intention to launch Starlink services in Bangladesh and its officials met with multiple government entities to this end in June this year.
Joel Meredith, manager for global government affairs at SpaceX, and Parnil Urdhwareshe, manager for global licensing and activation, made presentations on its features.
In a demonstration to the Bangladesh Satellite Company Ltd (BSCL), Starlink’s internet and download speeds reached about 500mbps, according to chairman Shahjahan Mahmood.
Download speeds reached 150mbps in another demonstration to the ICT Division.
The BSCL collected five Starlink terminals (Starlink Kits) to analyse the technology and analyse how they work during rain, fog and inclement weather.
“We have seen the test results and they are good. Now they have to apply for a licence,” Palak added.
One of the major hurdles to getting the licence was the government’s ‘lawful interception requirement’, which SpaceX officials were asked to ensure.
In Bangladesh, the law permits some government agencies to access or surveil telecommunication technology to monitor criminal activities.