Pakistan: Satellite Internet Launch in Final Stages
Pakistan’s satellite internet launch has entered its final stages, and the government is set to finalize the regulatory framework after completing consultations with relevant institutions, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Symposium, she said the government would provide an easier business environment for companies investing in satellite internet services.
The minister said three new submarine internet cables had landed in the country over the past two and a half years.
More than 17,000 kilometres of optical fibre have been laid through the Universal Service Fund, while the number of homes passed by fibre broadband has increased from fewer than 3 million in 2024 to more than 5 million.
Pakistan has also reduced the gender gap in mobile internet use from 38 percent to 8 percent, she said.
The minister said Pakistan introduced 5G technology through a spectrum auction in March 2026. The government is also working to help local businesses provide internet services in rural areas through new licensing and business models.
She added that more than 10 million people had received fuel subsidies through a technology-based system that did not require a smartphone.
Reference Link:- https://propakistani.pk/2026/10/13/satellite-internet-launch-in-final-stages/
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.…
