Bangladesh allows Starlink to export unfiltered internet to neighbouring countries

Bangladesh has approved a landmark proposal allowing Elon Musk-owned Starlink to export unfiltered internet bandwidth to neighbouring countries through its telecom infrastructure.

According to a report by The Daily Star, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) granted the approval after receiving clearance from the country's Posts and Telecommunications Division (PTD).

It is the first time Bangladesh has formally allowed a satellite internet provider to export International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) connectivity carrying unfiltered internet traffic to other countries.

Officials, cited in the report, say the approval is aimed at supporting international internet services while ensuring that Bangladesh's domestic internet traffic remains separate and subject to existing regulations.

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What does 'unfiltered internet' mean?

Unlike the internet used within Bangladesh, which passes through government monitoring and filtering systems, the exported bandwidth will not be filtered before reaching users in other countries.

In simple terms, "unfiltered internet" refers to internet traffic that does not pass through controls such as firewalls, deep packet inspection or application-level restrictions that governments may use to monitor or regulate online activity.

Industry experts say this is important because countries buying international bandwidth generally require direct, unfiltered internet connections to ensure faster speeds, lower latency and reliable network performance.

How will the system work?

Under the approved arrangement, the state-owned Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) will be the primary supplier of bandwidth to Starlink under an existing three-year agreement.

According to the report, if BSCCL cannot meet Starlink's requirements, the company will be allowed to source bandwidth from private telecom firms Summit Communications Ltd and Fiber@Home Ltd.

Bangladesh currently receives international internet capacity through two submarine cables connected to Singapore and seven terrestrial cable operators importing bandwidth from India.

According to the report, Starlink has said that only internet traffic belonging to customers outside Bangladesh will pass through these international connections. Data generated by users inside Bangladesh will not be routed through the export network.

Strict safeguards for domestic users

According to the report, the proposal underwent months of technical reviews before receiving government approval.

During the review process, the BTRC directed Starlink to ensure that the exported bandwidth would serve only foreign customers and not users within Bangladesh, including foreign visitors staying in the country, the report said.

The regulator also required the company to establish separate network infrastructure for domestic and international traffic, submit detailed network diagrams and deploy monitoring systems to verify that the two networks remain completely isolated.

According to the report, Starlink has informed the regulator that it had met these requirements, including providing technical documentation and compliance tools for government oversight.