Bangladesh has invited Elon Musk's Starlink to enter its market with the primary goal of preventing future internet shutdowns, said Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus yesterday.

In a Facebook post, Shafiqul said, "The Sheikh Hasina dictatorship shut down Internet on scores of occasions during her 16 years rule. Internet shutdown is a favourite tool of the dictators and autocrats to crack down protests or suppress any major opposition agitations. But in the process, hundreds of thousands of free lancers were affected. Some lose their contracts and jobs forever."

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How Starlink internet can benefit Bangladesh

He added, "Starlink's arrival in the Bangladesh market means no future government can fully shut down the Internet. At least BPO firms, call centres and freelancers will never be hit by any new attempt to stop the net."

Earlier on February 19, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus extended an invitation by a formal letter to Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, to visit Bangladesh and oversee the launch of Starlink satellite internet service in the country within 90 working days.