diff --git a/params/config.go b/params/config.go
index 1597548cb..3d2266729 100644
--- a/params/config.go
+++ b/params/config.go
@@ -597,6 +597,9 @@ type ShhextConfig struct {
 
 	// AnonMetricsServerPostgresURI is the uri used to connect to a postgres db
 	AnonMetricsServerPostgresURI string
+
+	// BandwidthStatsEnabled indicates if a signal is going to be emitted to indicate the upload and download rate
+	BandwidthStatsEnabled bool
 }
 
 // Validate validates the ShhextConfig struct and returns an error if inconsistent values are found
diff --git a/services/ext/service.go b/services/ext/service.go
index ff59a0fd8..db274d57e 100644
--- a/services/ext/service.go
+++ b/services/ext/service.go
@@ -164,7 +164,11 @@ func (s *Service) StartMessenger() (*protocol.MessengerResponse, error) {
 	}
 	go s.retrieveMessagesLoop(time.Second, s.cancelMessenger)
 	go s.verifyTransactionLoop(30*time.Second, s.cancelMessenger)
-	go s.retrieveStats(5*time.Second, s.cancelMessenger)
+
+	if s.config.BandwidthStatsEnabled {
+		go s.retrieveStats(5*time.Second, s.cancelMessenger)
+	}
+
 	return response, nil
 }