DHAKA, Bangladesh 

Bangladesh’s transitional government gave final approval Monday to Elon Musk's Starlink to provide satellite internet services in the country.

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus approved the license, his office said, with Bangladesh becoming the second country in South Asia to launch Starlink services after Sri Lanka.

Starlink earlier this month applied for the Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) license required for operation. The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) approved it and forwarded it to Yunus’s office for final endorsement.

“A policy decision was taken (in a meeting) to issue the applied license in favor of the company (Starlink),” Yunus’s office said in a statement.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, special assistant to the chief adviser on Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, said in the statement that bringing Starlink to Bangladesh became a public demand in protest against the successive internet shutdowns by the former administration of Sheikh Hasina during the July popular uprising.

At least 65% of Bangladesh’s telecommunications towers are not connected to fiber optic networks and rely on limited-capacity microwave links, according to Ahmad.

There are also problems with the coverage and capacity of mobile networks, he said, adding that Starlink will make the mobile and broadband internet markets competitive and ensure uninterrupted and quality high-speed internet access in cities and remote villages.

SpaceX’s Vice President for Global Engagement, Lauren Dreyer, met with Yunus last week on the sidelines of the Earthna Summit in Doha, Qatar and confirmed May as the technical launch date.

A month ago, Yunus also held an online discussion about broad collaboration with Musk and launching the service in Bangladesh.