Starlink registered with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan: IT Minister

Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja confirmed that Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by US billionaire Elon Musk, has been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

“The Space Board Authority is currently reviewing various technical aspects, and we have communicated updates to Starlink,” the minister stated while speaking to Geo.tv. 

She added that the government is working on a regulatory framework to open low earth orbit (LEO) satellite services to all international companies.

The development follows Musk’s remarks on social media platform X, where he stated that Starlink is awaiting approval to begin operations in Pakistan.

Government officials disclosed that international consultants are assisting in formulating a comprehensive policy for regulating non-jurisdictional and non-stationary LEO satellites. 

In a related development, Pakistan is set to benefit from the 2Africa Submarine Cable System, which aims to significantly enhance internet speed and reliability. Facilitated by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) through Transworld Associates as the landing party, the cable is part of a global initiative involving Meta and Vodafone.

The 45,000-kilometre cable, equipped with state-of-the-art SDM1 technology and a capacity of 180 Tbps, will connect 46 locations across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Installation began on December 1, 2024, at Hawksbay, Karachi, with deep-sea laying planned to start in April 2025.

Once operational in Q4 2025, the system will provide Pakistan with 24 terabytes of bandwidth, significantly improving the performance of platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. 

Currently, the country relies on approximately 8 terabytes of bandwidth from seven existing cables.

Pakistan, grappling with slow internet speeds and frequent disruptions, ranks 100th out of 111 countries in mobile internet speeds and 141st out of 158 countries in broadband speeds, according to Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index. Download speeds stand at 20.61Mbps for mobile internet and 15.60Mbps for broadband.