Starlink to begin services in Pakistan this year

Federal Minister for Information Technology (IT) Shaza Fatima Khawaja has said that American satellite internet company Starlink will launch its services in Pakistan by November or December this year.

Briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication on Monday, the federal minister said that the government is providing a license to Starlink, but there are still a few stages of the licensing process that the company is currently going through.

In this regard, Starlink first obtained registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, after which the company also registered with the Space Activities Regulatory Board.

Moreover, Starlink is also in talks to determine the pricing of its services, and the price of internet packages in Pakistan will be determined after the final pricing.

However, apart from Starlink, some Chinese satellite internet companies have also applied for licenses in Pakistan. They too will be issued licenses after fulfilling the requirements.

Added to that while shedding light on the gaming industry statistics to the National Assembly (NA), she stated that the number of online gamers will reach 45 million by 2025 and the global video gaming market was worth approximately $227.6 billion by 2023.

Earlier, Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet service, Starlink, has received a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Authority (PSARA), a crucial step toward its official launch in the country.