Bangladesh just became South Asia's first country to beam mobile signal from space

Banglalink, Bangladesh's third-largest mobile operator with about 37.8 million subscribers, has switched on a Starlink-powered satellite-to-mobile service — the first of its kind in South Asia. It works on an ordinary 4G phone with a Banglalink SIM: no satellite phone, no dish. Beyond normal coverage it carries essential apps, location services, and five free texts a month beamed from orbit — built for fishermen far at sea, remote coastal villages, and staying connected through cyclones, emergencies, and long blackouts. The first month is free with any internet bundle, and it costs nothing extra on selected monthly plans afterward. "Distance should not have to mean disconnection," said Banglalink CEO Johan Buse.