For most of Pakistan’s history, space and connectivity were kind of separate. Satellite was largely a business-to-business affair, with local players running VSAT [Very Small Aperture Terminal] links, while the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) handled orbital assets under a security chain and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) policed the terrestrial market. The two worlds intersected only at the margins: no consumer satellite market and no foreign constellation selling internet directly to Pakistani households.
The commercialisation of low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband has upended the old order. When Starlink first engaged with PTA in December 2021, there was no framework to govern it since PTA’s categories were mostly terrestrial and Suparco’s mandate was research. To address this, the National Space Policy was approved in December 2023, followed by the Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board (PSARB) rules two months later. The PTA’s licensing framework, finalised by April 2026, then made satellite broadband a licence category for the first time.
The new licence allows broadband, backhaul, bandwidth provision, and corporate intranet, while explicitly excluding direct-to-device, mobile satellite service, Earth stations in motion, and broadcasting. That means, at least for now, don’t expect connectivity on a Karachi-Islamabad flight or your phone catching a signal where there’s no tower. To be fair, most markets treat these as separate licence categories rather than lumping them into one permit.
