Kathmandu. Star Link, the company of American businessman Elon Musk, has received a license to operate satellite internet services in Bangladesh. With this, Bangladesh has become the second South Asian country to issue a license to operate Starlink’s internet service. Earlier, Starlink had obtained a license for internet service in Sri Lanka.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on Tuesday granted a license to Starlink to operate satellite internet services, the online edition of The Daily Star reported.
“We have issued the license after receiving approval from Bangladesh’s chief adviser Mohammad Younis and starlink paid the required fees,” said Mohammad Imdad-ul-Bari, chairman of the regulator.
Asked when Starlink will start its service, Bari said, “They will inform us with their local partners about how they plan to set up a local gateway and ground station.” He added that Starlink will also have to get approval about the tariff rate before starting the service.
Professor Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the government, on Monday approved a proposal to grant Starlink a licence to operate in Bangladesh. It is mandatory for the regulator to get approval from the head of the government before issuing the license. According to telecom rules, the regulator must obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Telecommunications before taking major decisions, including granting licenses.
Earlier on March 25, the Commission had issued “guidelines regarding licensing for non-geostationary orbit satellite service operators in Bangladesh.” Under this directive, Starlink Service Bangladesh had applied to the Commission for a non-geostationary orbit satellite service operator license by submitting applicable fees and necessary documents
After receiving the application, the Commission formed a seven-member committee to evaluate it. The committee recommended Starlink for licensing after verifying all the documents submitted.
Although Starlink has taken initiatives to expand satellite-based internet service in Nepal, it has not received a positive response from the government level. Starlink needs to amend the existing telecom services law to issue a license. For this, the government has not made any preparations to amend the law. However, private sector internet service providers continue to lobby at the policy level to bring Starlink to Nepal.
