Govt lets Starlink export unfiltered bandwidth

Bangladesh has approved a landmark proposal allowing Starlink to use International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) links to export unfiltered internet bandwidth to neighbouring countries, marking the first time the government has formally approved such an arrangement for a satellite internet provider.

The approval is expected to position Bangladesh as a potential regional connectivity hub while opening a new avenue for local telecom infrastructure companies to earn foreign currency from international bandwidth exports.

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According to official documents seen by The Daily Star, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) recently granted permission after securing approval from the Posts and Telecommunications Division (PTD).

The regulator sought the ministry’s approval in February following months of internal discussions, technical reviews and correspondence with Starlink as well as international terrestrial cable (ITC) operators.

Under the approval, the state-owned Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) will be the primary supplier of the bandwidth.

“It is learned that Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited has a three-year IPLC connectivity agreement with Starlink. For the purpose of providing services in neighbouring countries, Starlink may receive bandwidth under the existing agreement with Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited,” the PTD said in its approval letter.

However, the ministry added that if BSCCL is unable to provide the required capacity, Starlink may source bandwidth from Summit Communications Ltd and Fiber@Home Ltd.

Following the government approval, the BTRC formally notified Starlink by email, informing Rebecca Hunter, director for global licensing and market activation at Starlink, that it had granted the necessary regulatory clearance.

Bangladesh currently receives international internet bandwidth through two submarine cables connected to Singapore and seven international terrestrial cable operators, which import bandwidth from India.

Before reaching customers of internet service providers, mobile operators and others, the international bandwidth is filtered through government monitoring systems.

Unfiltered bandwidth, unlike filtered connections, bypasses network controls such as firewalls, deep packet inspection and application blocking that governments or operators may use to restrict access, monitor data or manage internet traffic. Industry experts say such unfiltered Internet Protocol (IP) transit is essential for carrying international internet traffic across borders.

“The unfiltered bandwidth will not be supplied within the territory of Bangladesh. It will go to other countries,” said Md Emdad ul Bari, chairman of the BTRC.

Technology expert Sumon Ahmed Sabir said the approval could help position Bangladesh as a regional data connectivity hub while enabling local operators to generate export earnings.

“No country would be willing to use bandwidth that has already been filtered by another country,” he told The Daily Star.

According to him, neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Bhutan require unfiltered connectivity to ensure reliable, high-quality internet services.

Starlink received its BTRC licence on April 29, 2025, to provide non-geostationary satellite orbit services in Bangladesh. The company launched commercial services in May and officially began operations on August 8, currently sourcing 80 Gbps of bandwidth from two international internet gateway operators for domestic use.

The company’s effort to secure permission for cross-border connectivity began in mid-August last year when it applied to use International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) connections and unfiltered IP transit from Bangladeshi operators to carry internet traffic for customers in neighbouring countries.

During the review process, the BTRC instructed Starlink to ensure that the bandwidth would serve only foreign customers and not users located in Bangladesh, including foreign visitors staying in the country.

The regulator also required the company to establish robust technical mechanisms to separate domestic and international data traffic completely. Starlink was asked to submit detailed network diagrams and deploy monitoring tools that would enable real-time verification of traffic flows.

In response, Starlink said internet traffic for foreign customers would pass between its points of presence (PoPs) in Bangladesh and overseas locations such as Singapore and Oman through leased circuit connections without carrying any data belonging to Bangladeshi customers.

The issue was further discussed at a high-level technical meeting on December 15, 2025, attended by officials from the BTRC, the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), Starlink and other senior government representatives.

The meeting reviewed Starlink’s monitoring, reporting and inspection arrangements, particularly at its Kaliakoir point of presence.

In a January 13 letter, Starlink informed the regulator that it had submitted updated network diagrams, addressed regulatory queries, applied to Summit Communications and Fiber@Home for unfiltered IP transit, and fulfilled the NTMC’s lawful interception requirements.

The company also provided the regulator with a compliance application programming interface (API), allowing direct access to data related to Bangladeshi subscribers.

Before recommending the proposal to the government, the BTRC also cited an earlier example of cross-border bandwidth exports.

According to the commission, between 2020 and 2025, BSCCL supplied up to 20 Gbps of unfiltered IP transit to India’s BSNL under various arrangements, indicating that exports of unfiltered bandwidth are not entirely unprecedented in Bangladesh.