United News of Bangladesh

Starlink, a Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellite internet provider owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has officially started its operations in Bangladesh. The announcement was made on Tuesday (20 May) in a Facebook post by Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser. “On Monday (19 May) afternoon, they informed me over a phone call and confirmed the matter this morning on their X handle,” he said. “Initially, Starlink is launching with two packages – Starlink Residence and Residence Lite. The monthly cost is Tk 6,000 for one and Tk 4,200 for the other. A one-time cost of Tk 47,000 will be required for setup equipment,” he added. Faiz Ahmad also said there will be no speed or data limits. Individuals will be able to use unlimited data at speeds of up to 300 Mbps. Customers in Bangladesh can start placing orders from today. “With this, Sir’s (CA's) expectation of launching within 90 days has been fulfilled,” he said. He went on to say, “Although expensive, this creates a sustainable alternative for premium customers to access high-quality and high-speed internet services.” “In addition, companies will have opportunities to expand their business into areas where fibre or high-speed internet services are yet to reach. NGOs, freelancers, and entrepreneurs will benefit from uninterrupted, high-speed internet throughout the year,” said the Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser. BTRC issues licenses to Starlink to operate in Bangladesh The Chief Adviser on Tuesday congratulated all involved as Starlink officially started its operations in Bangladesh, says his Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder. Prof Yunus on February 14 held an extensive video discussion with Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, and owner of Tesla and X, to explore future collaboration and to make further progress to introduce Starlink satellite internet service in Bangladesh. On April 28, Chief Adviser Prof Yunus officially approved the license for Starlink to begin operations in Bangladesh, marking a significant step towards improving connectivity, especially in remote and underserved areas. On April 7, Starlink applied to the BTRC for a licence to operate in the country under the regulatory framework titled ‘Guidelines for Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) Satellite Services Operators in Bangladesh’. CA Prof Yunus approves Starlink’s license to operate in Bangladesh On March 25, Prof Yunus directed the relevant authorities to ensure the commercial launch of Starlink’s satellite broadband internet service in Bangladesh within 90 days. In accordance with this guideline, Starlink submitted a formal application along with the applicable fees and required documents. A decision to issue the license was taken in principle during a meeting of the commission on April 21. Starlink becomes a new addition to Bangladesh’s internet landscape, marking the country as the second in South Asia—after Sri Lanka—to host services from the global satellite internet provider.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to partner with Indian companies to locally manufacture satellite communications equipment, including antenna systems and user terminal devices, as it gears up to launch its high-speed Starlink satellite broadband services in the country next year. SpaceX is excited to find ways to work together with the Indian industry for manufacturing products for its Starlink devices,” Matt Botwin, director (market access with the Starlink program), said on Monday during SpaceX’s first official interaction with Department of Telecommunications (DoT) secretary Anshu Prakash, reports The Economic Times. The company always looks for opportunities to maximise the efficiency of its (global) supply chain, and “is now looking forward to working with its partners in India to recognise those opportunities”, Botwin said. This was also SpaceX’s first official comments on its India plans in the satellite communications space. The DoT had called a meeting with global satellite companies to discuss a holistic roadmap for locally manufacturing satellite communications gear and ways to create an enabling regulatory regime for global low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation operators to establish in-country gateways in India. Also read: SpaceX to send Dogecoin-funded satellite to the Moon in 2022 Those present at the meeting included officials from OneWeb, Viasat, Hughes, Airtel NSE 0.08 %, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, Department of Space, and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. India's satellite based communications space is heating up with the likes of SpaceX, Bharti Global-backed OneWeb and Jeff Bezos-led Amazon’s Project Kuiper looking to enter the country’s nascent satellite broadband space starting next year. During the meeting, Botwin, one of Musk’s key lieutenants, said, “SpaceX has been working with the Indian industrial sector for a long time, buying steel and steel-tubing for many of its rockets.” It is now committed to manufacturing hardware and satellite components and components of (satellite broadband) networks in India, he said. The company, known for its vertical integration, manufactures the gamut of rockets, antennae systems and user terminal devices. Also read: SpaceX capsule departs station with 4 astronauts, heads home SpaceX has been accepting pre-orders for beta version of its Starlink satellite internet service in India for a fully refundable deposit of $99 (above Rs 7,000). According to its website, the company’s satellite broadband services are being targeted in India in 2022, although availability, it says, is subject to regulatory approvals. During the meeting, satellite companies strongly discouraged the Indian government from auctioning mmWave satellite spectrum in the 28 GHz band for 5G mobile services, saying such a move would impact their data download speeds and geographical reach in India. “Unlike the mobile use case, by its very nature of usage, satellite spectrum is not dedicated to a single satellite operator, and the world over, it is not auctioned but assigned as per International Telecom Union (ITU) regulations,” said Anil Prakash, director general of Satcom Industry Association of India (SIA-India), who was present at the meeting with Prakash. The coveted 28 GHz spectrum – with a band range from 27.5 GHz to 29.5 GHz – is currently used exclusively by satellite players but it is considered a highly efficient band for 5G services. Also read: Biggest space station crowd in decade after SpaceX arrival Telcos, on their part, have repeatedly told DoT that unavailability of 28 GHz spectrum could jolt India’s 5G business case. Without these airwaves, 5G deployment costs would surge and make the ultra-fast wireless broadband service unaffordable in the country, they said.