Islamabad, 05 Jan. 2025 (Daily Dawn)

IT and Telecom Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja on Saturday announced that the satellite-based internet-providing company ‘Starlink’ had been registered in Pakistan. Elon Musk responded to messages on social media platform X, confirming that the company was negotiating with the government.

The IT minister has responded to queries regarding the status of Starlink’s entry into Pakistan’s internet business on the social media platform, saying, “It is registered, and the licensing is in process.”

At the same time, some enthusiasts tagged the owner of Tesla, X and Starlink, requesting him to get satellite-based internet services in Pakistan.

Anadolu, Official News Agency of Turkiye has reported also that US billionaire Elon Musk confirmed Saturday that Starlink applied to launch internet services in Pakistan but was "waiting for approval from the government."

It is in response to a post by a Pakistani netizen, Sanam Jamali, who said Starlink internet services could "leap" Pakistan "into the future, where every citizen has the chance to connect and grow."

Musk's confirmation of his intention to launch Starlink in Pakistan comes at a time when the South Asian nation topped the list of countries that suffered the most due to internet outages in 2024.

According to Top10VPN.com, an independent VPN reviewer, the global internet disruption lasted 88,788 hours last year which caused a financial loss of $7.69 billion.

It said Pakistan was the single most affected nation with $1.62 billion in losses, followed by Myanmar ($1.58 billion) and Sudan ($1.12 billion).

The registration process is with the National Space Agency (NSA), which is the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission.

In April 2024, the government notified ‘National Space Activities Rules 2024’, applicable to space activities carried out within the territory of Pakistan, outside the territory if they are carried out on ships, vessels, or other airborne vehicles registered in the country and every person carrying out space activities and providing Space-based Services in Pakistan.

Under the rules, the National Space Agency will be competent to enter into any agreements with foreign satellite operators to acquire, distribute, and sell foreign satellite data in Pakistan.

A senior IT ministry official said that after the registration process, the satellite data operator will engage with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to obtain a licence and initiate services.

About six operators are currently providing satellite-based internet services globally, and new players are also entering the field; these include Starlink, Amazon, Oneweb and a Chinese operator.