MAHMUDUL HASAN

Early users of Starlink, the satellite internet service recently launched in Bangladesh, have expressed satisfaction over its high-speed and stable connection.

Since the official rollout announcement on May 20 via Starlink’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, customers across the country have been receiving and testing their kits, reporting download speeds between 200 Mbps and 450 Mbps, and upload speeds ranging from 15 Mbps to over 40 Mbps.

Md Mashiur Rahman, a broadband internet service provider (ISP) based in Dhamrai, Savar, shared his hands-on experience after ordering the Starlink Standard Kit from Starlink.com on May 21.

He received the hardware components needed to access the service on June 16 and installed it the same day on the rooftop of his two-storey house.

The setup cost him around Tk 49,000, including courier charges, and there is an additional Tk 6,000 per month subscription fee for the “Starlink Residential” package.

“On average, I’m getting 300 Mbps to 350 Mbps download and 40 Mbps to 50 Mbps upload speeds,” said Rahman.

“I’m planning to run over 25 devices of my extended family members, including 40 to 50 IoT devices such as Alexa and Google Home. Initial experience is great and getting connection without any interruption in spite of relentless rains,” he said.

Despite being a broadband provider himself, Rahman welcomed Starlink’s arrival.

“The ISP market has already seen a seismic shift in the past three months, just from the news of Starlink. Earlier, I offered 5 Mbps to clients. Now I’ve upgraded them to 10 Mbps to 20 Mbps and even offer uncapped streaming that sometimes hits 300 Mbps to 400 Mbps,” he said.

However, he noted that Starlink’s signal strength varies significantly based on placement.

“It works best on the northeast side of the house. Lower floors or rooms without sky-facing windows struggle to get a usable signal,” said Rahman.

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