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By fast-tracking Starlink’s entry, Bangladesh’s government has opened the door to a potential satellite-driven conflict in a region already fraught with poverty
Image Source: Getty
Under the leadership of the Chief Advisor to the Interim Government, Mohammad Yunus, Bangladesh has taken concerted steps to operationalise Starlink. On 20 May 2025, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, who holds the position of Special Assistant (equivalent to Minister of State) in Bangladesh’s Posts and Telecom Ministry, announced the launch of Starlink in the country. With two service packages, Starlink Residence is offered at Tk 6,000 (roughly equivalent to INR 4,200) and Starlink Residence Lite at Tk. 4,200 (roughly equivalent to INR 3,000), Starlink will incur a one-time equipment setup cost of Tk. 47,000 (approximately equivalent to INR 38,000). The exorbitant services do not match the social and economic realities of Bangladesh.
The telecom sector in Bangladesh has been struggling for a long time, with significant revenue losses. Since 2015, the Bangladeshi telecom sector has experienced a 56 percent reduction in the average revenue per user (ARPU).
Bangladesh has among the highest internet service taxes in the world. Unlike India, which charges 18 percent on telecom services, the Bangladeshi government charges a value-added tax of 18 percent and an over-and-above sector-specific tax of 21 percent. On the corporate tax front, publicly traded telecom service providers are taxed at 40 percent, whereas non-publicly traded service providers shell out an enormous 45 percent. The telecom sector in Bangladesh has been struggling for a long time, with significant revenue losses. Since 2015, the Bangladeshi telecom sector has experienced a 56 percent reduction in the average revenue per user (ARPU). Currently, the ARPU stands at just US$ 1.3一one of the lowest globally. With internet penetration at nearly 44 percent, the telecom sector remains a weak contributor to the Bangladesh economy.
Socio-economic indicators from Bangladesh are concerning. The World Bank’s Bangladesh Development Update has warned of a rise in the extreme poverty rate from 7.7 percent in 2024 to 9.3 percent in 2025. The World Bank has also predicted that the national poverty rate will grow from 20.5 percent in 2024 to 22.9 percent in 2025. Bangladesh’s poverty indicators have set a threshold of Tk. 3,822 on basic monthly expenses. The Starlink Residence Lite service package is more expensive than what nearly a quarter of Bangladesh’s population can afford. Starlink’s entry at these price points is incongruent with the Bangladeshi market's demands and numerous socio-economic realities in that country. The Interim Government has expedited satellite communication (satcom) internet services to meet US objectives that do not require consideration of market and socio-economic factors.
Starlink’s entry at these price points is incongruent with the Bangladeshi market's demands and numerous socio-economic realities in that country.
Yunus is not new to the telecom sector. He is the founder of Grameenphone, a Bangladeshi telecom service provider founded in 1997, which has had majority stakes from the Norwegian provider Telenor. Over the past three to four years, Grameenphone has experienced a decline in its business, largely due to actions taken by the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC), especially during the Hasina administration. In 2022, the BTRC suspended Grameenphone from selling both old and new SIM cards, citing its failure to provide quality services to its customers. One of the last actions of the Hasina administration against Yunus was related to Grameenphone, where he was accused of allegedly embezzling US$ 2 million from the telecom company. The BTRC's observations were vindicated when Grameenphone reported a 53 percent drop in net profit for the first quarter of 2025. With the decline in mobile and data usage, the company, in May 2025, decided to enter the mobile handset sale business, leveraging Grameenphone’s distribution networks. It now exclusively sells handsets from the Shenzhen-based manufacturer Transsion Holdings. Similarly, the same Grameenphone distribution network could likely be used to sell high-end Starlink user terminals in Bangladesh.
In his letter written to President Donald Trump on 7 April 2025, Yunus assured “elimination of certain testing requirements, rationalising packaging, labelling, and certification requirements ... and simplifying customs procedures and standards.” Whether the BTRC has tested and certified these devices with due consideration to the telecom security of Bangladesh and its neighbourhood is unknown. This assurance was to facilitate the entry of Starlink in Bangladesh within 90 days from February 2025. The assurance has been honoured, and the tariffs previously looming over the Bangladeshi industry have been successfully averted.
The Starlink terminal, captured in Manipur in December 2024, belonged to the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) and its armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army, which is based in Sylhet.
Starlink services in Bangladesh will undoubtedly create security challenges within the country and throughout the region, considering that the interim government has been lenient toward terror groups but not toward its political opposition. The Starlink terminal, captured in Manipur in December 2024, belonged to the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) and its armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army, which is based in Sylhet. If the terminal is part of a larger cache of smuggled terminals located in Bangladesh, the initiation of services will activate them, enabling terror groups to utilise these resources during operations in the bordering areas of neighbouring countries. With Starlink’s official entry in Bangladesh and its use with Myanmar rebels, likely, any conflict that the US and China proxies would engage in the Padma-Irrawady river valleys would be highly informationised, perhaps also being the world’s first satellite informationised wars. Starlink would augment digital connectivity in the marshes of Sundarbans and the hilly forests of Chattogram, but this connectivity would be exploited by terror groups and state proxies indefinitely.
Chaitanya Giri is a Fellow at the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology, Observer Research Foundation
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
Dr. Chaitanya Giri is a Fellow at ORF’s Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology. His work focuses on India’s space ecosystem and its interlinkages with ...
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