Elon Musk Gives Major Update on Starlink’s Arrival in Pakistan
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
SpaceX owner Elon Musk on Saturday said he was waiting for the Government of Pakistan to give approval to allow access to Starlink internet in the country.
“We are waiting for approval from the government,” Musk said while responding to a tweet on X on January 4, 2025.
This comes just a week after US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for presidential envoy for special missions Richard Grenell tweeted on X asking Musk to add Pakistan to the list of places that need Starlink internet.
The same day, Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima said Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet Services Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. had applied for a license. She did mention that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is currently only processing applications from companies registered with the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). Besides some below-the-radar complications between local authorities and Musk’s satellite-based internet company, this has been the most apparent roadblock.
Latest on Starlink’s progress to Enter Pakistan
ProPakistani was earlier informed that the federal government and Starlink are in the initial stages of discussions regarding its license to operate in Pakistan.PTA officials confirmed that Starlink’s application is under preliminary review.
The PTA stated that technical requirements including bandwidth, uplinking, and gateway infrastructure are being evaluated as part of the standard licensing process for foreign satellite service providers. The National Space Agency (SUPARCO) is also assessing Starlink’s application under the National Space Policy framework.
Officials said Starlink must address several technical aspects before progressing in the licensing process. Once the National Space Agency grants its approval, PTA’s regulatory clearance will be required before Starlink can offer its services in Pakistan.
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Since last year, Pakistan has faced a plague of consistent internet disruptions. The federal government has so far blamed submarine cable faults or national security concerns as the main reasons for internet disruptions.
Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has so far faced the brunt of these disruptions. The platform has been banned in Pakistan since February 17, 2024.
Reference Link:- https://propakistani.pk/2025/01/04/elon-musk-gives-major-update-on-starlinks-arrival-in-pakistan/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
