In an interesting development, Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunications, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, has announced that the Elon-Musk owned satellite-based internet service, Starlink, will be available to the public by the end of this year.
It merits a mention that Starlink was officially green-lit by the government in March 2025 to start its operations in Pakistan.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif had instructed the government agencies to allow the company to establish its services in Pakistani market.
Expected date of Starlink’s arrival in Pakistan
During the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology on Monday, the minister revealed that the Elon-Must owned company will be available for use by November or December 2025.
Shaza Fatima has stated that the company requested a timeframe till June so it could meet all regulatory obligations. However, she revealed that the government has set the deadline of May for the company to meet the requirements.
Starlink has been granted a temporary registration currently and it will be fully registered once all necessary procedures are fulfilled, according to the minister.
Expected rates of Starlink in Pakistan
Presently, the costs of services might exceed the local internet service providers’ costs.
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 huge amount of Rs110,000 one-time payment for the hardware installation.
Business Package: Typically, Starlink offers these packages for commercial entities who require much faster bandwidth like 100-500 Mbps. This package will expectedly 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.
It uses around 6,000 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites in space which have been placed by Elon-Musk owned company, SpaceX.
The Starlink is a satellite internet constellation which is made up of thousands of satellites orbiting the planet Earth in a low orbit, allowing much faster internet speeds.
Read more: Bangladesh grants Starlink licence amid tariff concerns over garment exports
