On Saturday, SpaceX owner Elon Musk announced that he is waiting for the Pakistani government to approve access to Starlink internet in the country. “We are waiting for approval from the government,” the billionaire said in response to a tweet on X on January 4, 2025.
That tweet follows up a suggestion from Richard Grenell, US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for presidential envoy for special missions, urging Elon Musk to put Pakistan on the list of places where Starlink internet is needed. Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima confirmed that Starlink Internet Services Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. had applied for a license. However, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is processing applications from companies only registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) at this time.
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As ProPakistani reported, the federal government is currently engaged with Starlink in initial discussions regarding its license to operate in Pakistan. Meanwhile, PTA officials confirmed that the application of Starlink was a preliminary one under review. The PTA has included assessments about technical requirements related to bandwidth, uplinking, and gateway infrastructure, as part of the standard licensing process for foreign satellite service providers. The application by Starlink is also being considered by the National Space Agency (SUPARCO) under the National Space Policy framework.
According to officials, Starlink must resolve some technical issues before progressing in the licensing process. Once the approval is secured from the National Space Agency, the regulatory clearance of PTA will be required for Starlink to provide its services in Pakistan.
Since 2021, Pakistan has been witnessing internet outages and the said government would blame the loss of the submarine cable on national security concerns. The social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has been blocked in Pakistan on February 17, 2024.