Starlink has begun work in Bangladesh as local companies sign agreements to help build a Ground Earth Station and support satellite internet services. A Starlink team is visiting the country and has made deals with firms to provide land, construction help, and infrastructure maintenance so the service can start smoothly. Some sites are on land owned by Bangladeshi companies and others are planned inside high-tech parks. The project aims to bring steady internet to cities and to remote parts of the country, including northern and coastal areas, and to keep people connected during power cuts and natural disasters. Officials say satellite internet can reach places where fiber does not yet arrive and can keep shops, schools, and health centers online when wires go down. Local entrepreneurs, freelancers, non-profits, and small businesses could get faster access to markets and tools, and that would help the digital economy grow. The government has been working with the Starlink team to create a model for service delivery, and leaders said they expect a working plan within three months. To mark the launch, the chief advisor invited Elon Musk, founder of Starlink and SpaceX, to come for the official opening and to meet young people who will use the technology. Preparations are being coordinated by a high representative appointed to work closely with the Starlink team so the network can be set up without delay. Officials emphasize backup power and disaster resilience so that schools, clinics, and emergency teams can stay connected during severe weather and floods. Those points matter to farmers, teachers, and health workers in places that often face storms and outages. The plan also links to a push to make government services more digital and easier to use. Four ministries have been asked to speed up the shift to digital citizen services, including the land ministry, the commerce ministry, the tax board, and the road transport authority. The list of steps includes automating ministry workflows, moving to all-electronic file management, using enterprise resource planning systems, and adopting digital signatures so work moves faster and needs less paper. Ministers and officials are asked to make sure systems can share data safely through secure application programming interfaces so people do not have to fill the same forms again and again. These efforts will start with pilot projects in a few ministries and grow if they prove successful. Together, the satellite project and the digital service push aim to make internet access fairer, support small businesses, and give more people the tools to join the online economy. Local companies that work on the ground will also gain jobs and contracts, helping the wider economy as services expand and more people get connected and create opportunities.
