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Bangladesh has approved a proposal allowing Starlink to export unfiltered internet bandwidth to neighbouring countries, marking the first time the government has formally authorised such an arrangement for a satellite internet provider.
The move is expected to strengthen Bangladesh’s position as a regional connectivity hub while creating new opportunities for local telecom infrastructure companies to earn foreign currency through bandwidth exports.
The approval was granted by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) after receiving clearance from the Posts and Telecommunications Division (PTD) following months of technical reviews and consultations with Starlink and industry stakeholders.
Under the approval, the Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) will serve as Starlink’s primary bandwidth supplier under an existing three-year International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) agreement. If BSCCL is unable to meet demand, Starlink will be allowed to source capacity from Summit Communications Ltd and Fiber@Home Ltd. The BTRC has already informed Starlink of the regulatory clearance.
Officials said the exported bandwidth will be used solely to serve customers outside Bangladesh and will not be made available to users within the country.
BTRC Chairman Md Emdad ul Bari said the unfiltered bandwidth “will not be supplied within the territory of Bangladesh” but only to neighbouring countries.
Unlike conventional internet connections used domestically, unfiltered bandwidth bypasses network controls such as firewalls, deep packet inspection and traffic filtering. Such connectivity is widely used for cross-border internet transit to ensure faster and uninterrupted international data flow.
Insiders believe that the decision could significantly boost Bangladesh’s role in regional digital connectivity.
Technology analyst Sumon Ahmed Sabir said countries such as Nepal and Bhutan require unfiltered international connectivity to ensure reliable internet services, adding that no country would prefer internet traffic already filtered by another nation.
Starlink received its licence from the BTRC in April 2025 to provide low-Earth-orbit satellite internet services in Bangladesh. It launched commercial services the following month and currently uses locally sourced international bandwidth for its domestic operations.
The company first applied in 2025 for permission to use Bangladesh as a transit point to carry internet traffic for customers in neighbouring countries.
During the approval process, the BTRC required Starlink to ensure complete separation between domestic and international traffic. The company was instructed to submit detailed network designs, install monitoring systems and comply with lawful interception requirements.
Starlink assured regulators that only data belonging to foreign customers would pass through its network in Bangladesh, with traffic routed between its local points of presence and overseas facilities in Singapore and Oman.
Officials said the regulator also received technical documentation, compliance tools and monitoring arrangements before recommending the proposal to the government.
The BTRC noted that Bangladesh has previously exported unfiltered bandwidth on a limited scale through BSCCL to India’s BSNL, but the latest approval marks the country’s first formal arrangement of its kind involving a global satellite internet provider.
The decision is expected to support Bangladesh’s ambition to become a regional internet transit hub while expanding export opportunities in the country’s growing digital and telecommunications sector.
