Starlink, the satellite-based internet service provider owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX, has officially received approval to operate in Bangladesh. The clearance was granted by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
The announcement was made during a press briefing held on Sunday (April 6) at the Foreign Service Academy as part of the upcoming Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025. Chowdhury Ashiq Mahmud Bin Harun, Executive Chairman (Senior Secretary) of BIDA and BEZA, confirmed the development.
"Foreign companies must be registered with BIDA to conduct business in Bangladesh, and Starlink has now completed this process,” he said. "We granted their registration on March 29. Bangladesh is now stepping into the Starlink era. The service will be launched on a trial basis on April 9, with full commercial operations expected within the next three months."
The initial trial will take place at the InterContinental Hotel in Dhaka, the venue of the investment summit. Attendees will have access to Starlink’s internet service, which will also be used for the live broadcasting of the event.
Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, provides satellite-based internet through a network of small, low-earth-orbit satellites. Initially, the service is expected to cater to banks, financial institutions, large corporations, e-commerce platforms, and digital businesses in Bangladesh.
Starlink offers unlimited high-speed internet, with current speeds reaching up to 150 Mbps. SpaceX has plans to double this speed in the future. In comparison, the current maximum internet speed in Bangladesh is around 25 Mbps, placing the country 90th out of 108 nations in terms of global internet speed.
