Starlink to Mandatorily Use Local Gateway
Bangladesh has officially entered the era of satellite internet, according to Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser. On Tuesday, he announced that Starlink has commenced its commercial journey in the country, marking what he termed a “milestone of success.”
Speaking at a press briefing held at the Foreign Service Academy on Bailey Road in Dhaka, Taiyeb explained, “Ninety days ago, Bangladesh had no NGSO (Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit) license. Within this short period, the country formulated a comprehensive NGSO guideline, processed a satellite internet operator’s application, and enabled Starlink to launch commercially between February and May.” He further added, “This is the first and unique rollout of its kind in Bangladesh’s telecom licensing history.”
Addressing a query on whether Starlink is entrepreneur-friendly, he said, “We designed the NGSO regulations to be business-friendly. Entrepreneurs or small groups can raise a fund of BDT 47,000 to purchase an internet setup box. They can then sell internet services within a Wi-Fi range of 20 to 50 meters, particularly suitable for rural market centers where many shops are located close together. The law does not restrict such resale or sharing, even in urban homes.”
He added that Starlink’s built-in router can be used in ISP setups through router-to-router links. The government has also mandated the establishment of a local gateway for Starlink operations, currently under commercial test runs. “Starlink has been given 90 days to complete this process, ten of which have passed. Once completed, the local gateway will be mandatory, eliminating national security concerns,” Taiyeb noted.
He emphasized, “Unlimited data will be available through Starlink in Bangladesh.”
In terms of affordability and financing, Taiyeb said, “We are working with microcredit authorities, financial institutions, and banks to help entrepreneurs secure funds for purchasing Starlink equipment. Though the service is priced at BDT 6,000 and BDT 4,000 monthly for two packages, we’ve negotiated with Starlink to lower the costs. Since sharing and resale are permitted, successful SME and business models can be built using Starlink internet.”
He also clarified that users may feed the internet signal (excluding mobility and roaming functions) to secondary networks without restriction. “Legal frameworks are fully in place to facilitate SME and entrepreneurial development using Starlink. We even foresee the emergence of ‘Wi-Fi ladies’—female entrepreneurs in rural areas supported through micro-loans to offer internet services,” he said.
On the ongoing U.S.-China tech rivalry and its possible impact on Starlink’s operations in Bangladesh, Taiyeb reassured that the government supports open and competitive business practices:
“Bangladesh uses Chinese technology for 4G/5G backbone deployment, and several government telecom projects are being implemented by Chinese engineers. Chinese vendors also serve our mobile operators. We want both U.S. and Chinese businesses to operate freely, protecting national interest. If Chinese firm GW or other global players like Amazon Kuiper, Telesat, Satteloit, or OneWeb want to enter the market, they will receive the same policy treatment.”
He pointed out that only 30% of mobile towers in Bangladesh are fiber-connected, while the rest depend on low-capacity microwave links. “Thousands of towers operate with only 300 Mbps bandwidth to serve data to thousands of users. With Starlink, a single setup box can resolve these capacity limitations,” Taiyeb stated.
Starlink will initially launch two packages in Bangladesh: Starlink Residence (BDT 6,000/month) and Residence Lite (BDT 4,200/month). The one-time cost for setup and equipment is BDT 47,000.
