ISLAMABAD – The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoIT&T) revealed that Starlink, the Elon Musk owned satellite broadband service provider, has not obtained a license to start operations regarding internet services in Pakistan.
The ministry explained it in a statement presented in National Assembly, adding that the government has not given go ahead to the Starlink so far as the company is yet to meeting the technical and regulatory framework laid forth by Pakistan.
Reports said Starlink and other satellite broadband service providers are making efforts to enter the Pakistani market. However, all of them are yet to secure the license for commercial activities in the South Asian country.
Starlink first registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in December 2021 with the company title as “Starlink Internet Services Pakistan (Private) Ltd.”
It later submitted application for a Long Distance and International (LDI) license with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in February 2022.
But, there is not development as the company is yet to meet the requirements and address the concerns raised by the Pakistani authorities.