Bangladesh’s telecom regulator, at a Jan 29 meeting, decided to seek the Posts and Telecommunications Division’s opinion before determining whether Starlink Services Bangladesh Limited can route unfiltered IP transit traffic to neighbouring countries through Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is reviewing applications from International Terrestrial Cable operators Fiber@Home Global Limited and Summit Communications Limited, filed in December 2025 and January 2026, seeking approval to provide unfiltered IP transit connectivity to Starlink.
The filings state that Starlink intends to use the link to serve customers in Myanmar and Bhutan, requiring 40 gigabits per second of committed bandwidth with burst capacity of up to 400Gbps.
BTRC granted Starlink a licence on April 29, 2025 to provide Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit services in Bangladesh, and the company began formal operations on Aug 8.
It currently serves 3,479 subscribers using 80Gbps of bandwidth sourced from two International Internet Gateways.
On Aug 13, 2025, Starlink applied for approval to commercially use International Private Leased Circuit facilities and obtain unfiltered IP transit, prompting the regulator to seek detailed clarification.
In its response, the company said foreign customer data would move through IPLC links between its Point of Presence in Bangladesh and PoPs in Singapore and Oman, excluding any traffic from Bangladeshi users. It said the unfiltered IP transit connection would also be used solely to serve neighbouring countries.
The proposal was placed before BTRC’s 300th commission meeting, where conditions were imposed, including technical safeguards to prevent services to Bangladeshi customers, segregation of domestic and foreign traffic, and implementation of monitoring systems.
After receiving a letter from the regulator, Starlink submitted updated network diagrams and technical information. At a meeting chaired by the BTRC chairman, officials from Starlink, the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre and BTRC reviewed operational activities, monitoring arrangements, reporting procedures and on-site inspection mechanisms.
A joint inspection team will visit Starlink’s Point of Presence, officials said.
Starlink has also provided a compliance API tool enabling verification of Bangladeshi customer information from its database, with post-verification processes under way.
Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC previously provided up to 20Gbps of unfiltered IP transit to India’s Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited between 2020 and 2023.
After reviewing the matter, BTRC at its 303rd commission meeting decided it would obtain the ministry’s view before taking a final decision on allowing ITC operators to provide unfiltered IP transit to Starlink for cross-border internet supply.
