The US-based satellite internet service provider Starlink has received聽approval from the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority to operate in the country,聽said聽Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, executive chairman of the BIDA and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority.
He was speaking at a press conference on Sunday regarding the Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025 in the capital.
Responding to a question, he said that the BIDA rolled out a Non-Geostationary Orbit policy for Starlink on March 29 as a public domain. Then Starlink applied for a BIDA licence the process of which had been completed.
The company now applied for an NGSO licence which the BIDA would try to provide as soon as possible.
鈥楢fter getting the licence they can start operating any day. Maybe they require some time to import their devices and to formulate a model for operating the services here,鈥� he added.
He also said that the summit would run through Starlink from Hotel InterContinental on April 9, and visitors would be able to connect their private devices through the Starlink too.
According to the Starlink website, it is the world鈥檚 first and largest satellite constellation using a low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more.
Many see Starlink鈥檚 venture into Bangladesh as a sign of growing interest from global tech giants in the country鈥檚 digital infrastructure聽sector.
Earlier on February 13, chief adviser Muhammad Yunus held an extensive telephone discussion with Elon Musk, chief executive officer and owner of SpaceX that owns Starlink, regarding future collaborations and聽introducing Starlink鈥檚 services in Bangladesh.
Last month a Starlink team came to visit the country when several Bangladeshi firms signed agreements with the entity for supporting the work to establish ground earth stations.
At another press briefing on March 23, Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun announced that the Starlink would demonstrate its internet services during the Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025.
However, this would only be a demo, not the commercial launch, which would take longer, he also mentioned.
