Starlink has requested permission from Bangladesh to establish the country as a regional internet transit hub, aiming to serve Bhutan and other neighboring nations. The proposal includes building what the company says would be the world’s largest ground station at Gazipur Hi-Tech Park.
According to a letter sent to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Starlink has asked to operate data transport through Bangladesh without direct government filtering. For Bangladeshi customers, however, internet services would continue to run through local gateways and remain subject to existing laws on security, filtering, and content regulation.
Starlink, owned by SpaceX, already operates four ground stations in Bangladesh—two in Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park, and one each in Rajshahi and Jashore—since launching its satellite internet service in May 2025. The company argues that making Bangladesh a hub would reduce costs and improve latency compared with its current reliance on Singapore.
Industry analysts say the plan could boost Bangladesh’s role in the global internet transit business, a sector currently dominated by countries like Singapore. If approved, Starlink would purchase International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) and unfiltered IP bandwidth from local providers, including Summit, Fiber@Home, and Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited, to connect traffic through Singapore and Oman points of presence (PoPs).
BTRC Chairman Major General (Retd.) Emdadul Bari confirmed that the proposal is undergoing technical and legal review. “We will take a decision based on the country’s interest and existing guidelines,” he said.
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