Govt Reveals Starlink Launch Date for Pakistan

The National Assembly Standing Committee on IT & Telecom was informed on Tuesday that Elon Musk’s Starlink will launch in Pakistan within six months. Parliamentary Secretary for IT and Telecom Sabeen Ghauri disclosed that Starlink services will likely launch in Pakistan within six months. She discussed that Starlink applied for a license in February 2022, but at the time, authorities lacked the necessary framework to process it. She estimated that the approval could take a few more months. Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Major General (R) Hafeez Ur Rehman informed the committee that 90 percent of Starlink’s discussions with the Space Regulatory Authority have been completed. He said the board is operating under the Strategic Plans Division (military) and is handling the matter. The PTA Chairman also revealed that another satellite company had applied for a license alongside Starlink. The committee resented the unnecessary delays and all the related bureaucratic hurdles with the Starlink talks. The committee directed authorities to expedite Starlink’s licensing process and urged the federal government to take swift action. One committee member emphasized the importance of protecting user data and urged caution in granting the license. The PTA Chairman added that in the past six years, the regulator has contributed Rs. 1,700 billion in revenue to the government, while the government has not invested a single rupee in the telecom sector. He pointed out that India has invested $13 billion in connectivity under Prime Minister Modi, whereas Pakistan has spent nothing on fiberization. Despite this, the PTA Chairman assured that the IT Ministry is working on a fiberization policy and that 2,000 telecom towers were installed last year under a comprehensive plan.