Bangladesh interim authority Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus’ unusual urgency in ensuring rapid deployment of the Elon Musk-promoted Starlink communication and internet services is aimed at “sharing” the high-tech equipment with the Arakan Army, two senior Bangladeshi security service officials familiar with the issue revealed to Northeast News.
Soon after initial talks with Starlink took place a couple of months ago, primarily over the deployment and initiation of satellite internet services within three months, the deliberations took on a final shape in Doha, Qatar, where Yunus met SpaceX’s Vice President Lauren Dreyer on April 23.
Indeed, Starlink’s Qatar-based CEO Cyril Anand, Bangladesh National Security Advisor Khalilur Rahman and Foreign Ministry Adviser Tauhid Hossain were also present during Yunus’ meeting with Dreyer.
During the meeting, Dreyer promised to Yunus that “We’re very close to the finish line. I’ve asked my team to be fully ready for a technical launch by May”.
One of the two officials Northeast News spoke with said that Yunus’ visit to Doha, ostensibly to attend the Earthna Summit 2025, was actually to get a first-hand status on Starlink’s Bangladesh project.
“The three-month deadline set for Starlink’s operational launch was, and is, directly linked to advancing this technology to the Arakan Army,” the official said.
On his part, Yunus, during his meeting with Dreyer, made it appear that the anticipation of Starlink’s satellite internet services was “big news in Bangladesh” and that “people are counting down the days. And when the time comes, it has to be a big celebration”.
It is not immediately known whether Elon Musk or any of his senior business executives, either at SpaceX or Starlink, are even aware of the Bangladesh interim authority’s plan to “lend” some of the equipment to the Arakan Army which expects to launch a full-fledged military operation against the Myanmar military junta forces who continue to hold on to three key townships in the Rakhine.
These three townships are Sittwe, the Rakhine State capital, Kyaukphyu and Manaung.
Khalilur Rahman, a former Bangladeshi foreign service officer who has long experience of working in the United Nations, is US passport holder. Besides being the Bangladeshi NSA, he holds concurrent charge of High Representative to the Chief Adviser on Rohingya Crisis and Priority Issues Affairs.
Special assistant to Yunus, Faiz Ahmad Taiyyeb, will be Khalilur Rahman’s second-in-command for the Starlink project.
But more importantly, he also heads the Starlink project for Bangladesh and in this role he has been working closely with Yunus and Musk’s SpaceX team to expedite the preparations and ensure full operational readiness of Starlink within 90 days.
The Yunus-led interim authority in general and the Chief Adviser in particular showed particular keenness to invite Starlink to Bangladesh in February this year.
Yunus pulled out all stops to extend an invitation to Elon Musk to visit Dhaka to begin business confabulations and subsequently launch Starlink’s satellite service in Bangladesh.
In a letter to Musk in February, which was more to obfuscate his real intention to share the technology and equipment with the Arakan Army, Yunus said that Starlink’s launch would offer help Bangladesh’s youth as beneficiaries of the company’s advanced technology.
“Let us work together to deliver our mutual vision for a better future,” the Chief Adviser said in his letter to Musk, adding that “integrating Starlink’s connectivity into Bangladesh’s infrastructure will have transformational impact, particularly for Bangladesh’s enterprising youth, rural and vulnerable women, and remote and underserved communities”.
However, Bangladesh security service officials said that the “real purpose” is to “give away several of the Starlink equipment” to the Arakan Army so that the insurgent outfit “can have an edge over communications” in the impending military operations with the Myanmar military junta forces.
The sources said that the Starlink equipment will not be used by the Bangladesh Army – which has its own secure communications network – when it begins its providing logistics and supplies support to the Arakan Army.
Northeast News had earlier reported that the Bangladesh Army identified a large tract of land in Sikhali, about 30 kms north of Teknaf, from where it would push out supplies to the Arakan Army.
Sources said that Starlink will put in place eight ground stations in Bangladesh with two in Dhaka and Gazipur.
While it is still not clear when in May the Starlink satellite internet services would be available across Bangladesh, informed sources said that the participation of four local vendors has been confirmed.
Among these Bangladeshi companies are Bangladesh High Tech Park Authority, which will provide the land for two ground stations (one in Gazipur), and Banglalink (the mother company is Veon).
Land acquisition for Starlink’s technical and business facilities began in early March soon after Yunus communicated with Musk.
One of the key business executives who will be an integral part of the Starlink project is Imdadur Rahman who is the Managing Director of Bangladesh Satellite Company Ltd.
Industry sources said that Imdadur Rahman was recently handpicked by Yunus.
Starlink will offer two types of services – Bangladesh Premium and Bangladesh Platinum – in the region (Global South Tier).
Starlink began its operations in Bangladesh with a trail service launch on April 9 in the midst of the Bangladesh Investment Summit held at Dhaka’s InterContinental Hotel.
The company received its investment registration approval from the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) on March 29, when it was given 90 days to begin operations.
However, commercial operations will entail acquiring an NGSO licence from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) which is said to have already approved the licencing process. During the Bangladesh Investment Summit, speed tests supposedly recorded about 170 Mbps.
