In a transformative moment for Bangladesh’s digital future, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service has officially launched in the country, marking a major leap forward in connectivity for millions of people across both urban and remote regions. The announcement demonstrates SpaceX’s larger aim of delivering fast, reliable, and affordable Internet for under-served areas around the globe. It will put Bangladesh in the spotlight as being among the initial South Asian countries to tap the next generation of space-based internet infrastructure.
The announcement was confirmed this week by Starlink’s official portal, with coverage maps now showing availability throughout Bangladesh. Following regulatory approval by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the service is now open for public subscription, and installation kits are expected to begin arriving by early July.
For a country where rural broadband access has long lagged, Elon Musk’s Starlink presents a unique opportunity to bridge the digital divide. With its fleet of over 5,000 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and counting, Starlink is designed to deliver high-speed internet with low latency to even the most isolated regions—something that traditional fiber and mobile networks often struggle to achieve in Bangladesh’s riverine and mountainous terrains.
SpaceX’s CEO, Elon Musk, has repeatedly emphasized the social as well as economic benefits of Starlink. “The goal is to provide unconnected or poorly connected people with affordable, high-speed internet,” Musk tweeted in a post from a few days ago. “This has the power to uplift communities, improve education, and enable economic opportunities.”
In Bangladesh, the consequences can be incredibly significant. In spite of significant investment in technology for telecom over the last decade, more than 40% of Bangladesh’s population has no reliable internet connection, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. For rural areas, the figure is even higher. In many regions, people are still heavily dependent on slow 3G mobile connectivity or outdated DSL lines. Fiber broadband is largely concentrated in cities like Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet, leaving vast rural communities underserved.
Initial speed tests from Starlink beta users in Bangladesh suggest download speeds between 80 Mbps and 150 Mbps, with latency ranging between 25 and 45 milliseconds—competitive with or even better than many local ISPs. While some skeptics point to weather disruptions as a potential challenge, Starlink’s phased array antennas and advanced satellite routing help mitigate such issues.
The Starlink user kit includes a phased array dish, power supply, Wi-Fi router, and mounting tripod. Early adopters in Bangladesh report that setup is relatively straightforward, and the equipment automatically aligns itself with the optimal satellite constellation once powered on. Monthly subscription fees are estimated to be around USD 99, with the hardware costing about $499. While these prices may be out of reach for many low-income households, entrepreneurs, schools, and remote offices are expected to be key adopters.
The launch also comes at a time when Bangladesh is pushing to strengthen its digital economy under its Vision 2041 initiative—a government-led roadmap to transform the country into a knowledge-based economy. Starlink’s presence could offer vital support for telemedicine, remote learning, digital banking, and e-commerce in places that currently have little or no connectivity.
Tech entrepreneurs across Bangladesh have already begun expressing optimism. Rahat Hossain, a Dhaka-based software developer who works with clients overseas, believes Starlink will level the playing field for freelancers and startups in smaller cities. “Reliable internet is like oxygen in the tech world,” he said. “If someone in Rajshahi or Barisal can now have the same internet speeds as someone in San Francisco, that changes everything.”
Educational institutions are also keeping a close eye on the rollout. With the pandemic having exposed deep digital gaps in access to remote learning, universities and public schools in hard-to-reach areas could soon benefit from Starlink’s satellite internet to support hybrid or fully online models. For many rural students, this could mean attending virtual classes for the first time without persistent lag or signal dropouts.
However, not all are certain. Local telecom providers have voiced concerns regarding legal fairness as well as bandwidth sharing as well as competition. They claim that Starlink’s global reach and advantages through satellite could allow it to avoid the cost and infrastructure problems that are faced by local ISPs. To counter this, the BTRC insists that Starlink must adhere to local privacy laws and policies on taxation like every other supplier.
Environmental advocates, too, have voiced apprehensions. While SpaceX has made efforts to reduce the reflectivity of its satellites and deorbit them responsibly at the end of their life cycles, astronomers warn that a growing number of satellites in LEO could contribute to orbital congestion and interfere with ground-based observations.
For now, however, excitement appears to outweigh skepticism. Internet cafés, local governments, non-profits, and international development agencies are all exploring partnerships with Starlink to expand access in areas where traditional models have failed. Non-governmental organizations working in education and health are particularly eager to test the possibilities that Elon Musk’s Starlink brings.
In the international arena, Starlink is already active in more than 70 countries which includes parts of Africa, Latin America, as well as Southeast Asia. The recent expansion of Starlink to Bangladesh is considered to be an important move due to the young, tech-savvy populace and growing demand for digital services.
From a geopolitical standpoint, the entry of Elon Musk’s Starlink into South Asia could also have broader implications. As China pushes its satellite internet ambitions through projects like Hongyun and India moves forward with its indigenous BharatNet project, the satellite internet race is increasingly becoming a battleground for tech dominance and digital influence.
Still, for the everyday user in Bangladesh—a fisherman in Kuakata looking to check market prices, a student in Rangamati attending an online class, or a mother in a remote village receiving telehealth consultations—the arrival of Starlink is not just a headline. It’s a new window to the world.
As demand builds, industry experts predict that costs will eventually drop as production scales up and more competition enters the space. Elon Musk has previously stated that affordability is a long-term goal and that low-income regions will eventually see subsidized pricing.
For now, the spotlight is on the sky, where thousands of small satellites orbit silently, beaming the internet to the homes, schools, and businesses of a country eager to leap into a more connected future. With Elon Musk’s Starlink now living in Bangladesh, the digital divide may finally begin to narrow.