US billionaire Elon Musk’s US-owned internet services, Starlink, faced another setback on Monday as the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) decided not to issue its license.
Starlink in Pakistan could not succeed in getting a license from the PTA because Starlink was initially granted temporary registration by the Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board (PSARB) on March 21.
PSARB had made it clear that Starlink must complete all legal and technical formalities before a permanent registration could be issued.
According to sources, PSARB is busy settling all technical and regulatory matters for Starlink’s permanent registration.
Hence, PTA has decided not to issue Starlink a license to operate freely in Pakistan until it gets a green signal from PSARB.
According to sources, PTA will wait for permanent registration with PSARB to issue Starlink a license. Starlink is awaiting the issuance of a license from PTA to begin its services within the country.
It merits a mention that Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunications, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, announced earlier this month that Starlink would be available to the public by the end of 2025.
Expected service packages by Starlink in Pakistan
Residential Package: This service will be available for general residential areas, offering speeds of 50-250 Mbps. It is expected that this package will have a monthly rate of Rs35,000 while it will also include a huge amount of Rs110,000 one-time payment for the hardware installation.
Business Package: Typically, Starlink offers these packages for commercial entities that require much faster bandwidth, like 100-500 Mbps. This package will cost Rs95,000 per month in Pakistan while the one-time payment will be around Rs220,000 for installation.
Mobility Package: This package will also offer speeds of 50-250 Mbps in Pakistan with a monthly bill of Rs50,000 and installation charges around Rs120,000.
Read more: India calls back INS Vikrant from Arabian Sea
India’s decision to recall its aircraft carrier INS Vikrant to the port of Karwar highlights the emptiness of its threats, revealing the Indian Navy’s inability to maintain its stance in the face of Pakistan Navy’s continuous patrolling.
Amid the tensions between the two countries, INS Vikrant was deployed to the Arabian Sea on April 23rd (a day after Pahalgam incident) but on April 25th it unexpectedly returned to the Karwar Naval Base, Karnataka, India.
