PTA Issues IoT Licenses to Four New Companies

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has started issuing Internet of Things (IoT) licenses. The telecom regulator has issued IoT licenses to four companies and updated the IoT operators list on its website. According to details, PTA has issued IoT licenses to Noby Solutions (Private) LTD, IoT Technologies (SMC-Private) LTD, LCC Pakistan (Private) LTD, and WeatherWalay (Private) LTD. The license has been issued to the four companies for five years which can be renewed after the expiry. According to PTA, the authority has issued IoT licenses to four operators under section 5 of the Pakistan Telecommunication Act 1996 and PTA Regulatory Framework for Short Range Devices (SRD) & Terrestrial Internet of Things (IoT) Services to establish, maintain and operate IoT Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) network for the provision of LPWAN Services in Pakistan. The authority has issued IoT licenses to all four operators after fulfilling all requirements mentioned in the checklist. According to PTA, the operators are bound to provide reports to PTA about all expansions of the network in terms of Gateways installed/added and also to provide any other information as required by PTA from time to time. Typically, the IoT solution providers use the connectivity of existing Cellular Mobile operators, and therefore they are not required to deploy any new base station. However, if the new base station is required to be deployed by the operator for any technical reason, then this base station will be registered with Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) through PTA, and the company is bound to seek PTA approval before installation of the new Gateways. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority issued a Regulatory Framework for Short Range Devices (SRD) & Terrestrial Internet of Things (IoT) Services in February this year. The framework provides a regulatory mechanism for the industry, to enable the development of the IoT ecosystem in Pakistan. IoT is one of the major technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is used to run smart city systems and digital services such as smart homes, smart meters, transportation, etc.