Desk Report:
Starlink, an American company that provides satellite-based internet services, wants to do business in Nepal and Bhutan using Bangladesh as an international route for internet supply. For this, they have sent a letter to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) seeking approval.
It is learned that the BTRC wants to decide whether to grant permission or not after a face-to-face meeting with Starlink representatives and thoroughly evaluating the technical, legal and business issues. For this, Starlink has been called for discussions tomorrow, Wednesday.
When asked, Brigadier General Shafiul Azam Parvez, Director General of BTRC’s Engineering and Operations Branch, told Ajker Patrika, “We have received Starlink’s e-mail. They have asked for IPLC and unfiltered IP. We will not take any decision by just exchanging letters without meeting them face to face. We called them on October 8; But they have not yet said whether they will come or not.’
IPLC (International Private Leased Circuit) is a dedicated communication line for secure, high-capacity data transfer between the two countries. And unfiltered IP is a direct and unrestricted internet route, which avoids domestic filtering or monitoring.
BTRC sources said that Starlink told them in an email that as part of the global network, they want to connect their ‘Point of Presence’ (Pop) or data hub in Bangladesh with hubs in Singapore and Oman. Then, they will provide internet services from Bangladesh to Nepal and Bhutan. To establish this connection, they will take IPLC services from government-approved local companies ‘Fiber at Home’ and ‘Bangladesh Submarine Cable’.
Aminul Hakim, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB), an organization of internet connection companies in the country, believes that before giving permission to Starlink, we should evaluate the supply and demand of bandwidth in our country. Otherwise, Starlink may have to buy bandwidth from India.
Aminul Hakim said, “We are getting about 7 TBPS (terabit per second) from BSCPLC (Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC). Our country’s current demand is 8.5 TBPS, which is increasing every month. The remaining band has to be imported from India through ITC operators. Now if Starlink takes the band from our country and gives it to the neighboring country, it means that our operators will import the band from ITC. That means India will have to pay the dollar.”
Many people think that security is a concern when it comes to internet routes. However, telecommunications expert Sumon Ahmed Sabir believes that there should be no security risk to Bangladesh here.
BTRCA is not getting sufficient information
According to BTRC sources, Starlink has set up four gateways in Bangladesh. Of these, there are two with a POP in Kaliakoir, Gazipur, and one gateway each in Rajshahi and Jessore. 35 antennas have also been installed in these gateways.
BTRC inspected these gateways last August. Then, the information from the inspection was presented at the BTRC commission meeting. It was informed that no information related to Starlink’s commercial activities was received from the company. However, according to information received from Fiber at Home, Summit and BSCPLC, the companies providing their NTTN (Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network) services, Starlink is exchanging their commercial traffic. However, BTRC could not confirm whether the information exchange was in compliance with LI (Lawful Interception). It was not clear during BTRC’s inspection whether Starlink was transmitting its traffic using gateways established in Bangladesh or gateways in other countries.
