Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite operators have held government and regulatory bodies responsible for prolonged delays in issuing licences required to launch satellite-based internet services in Pakistan, industry officials told Pakistan Digital Post.
At least five companies interested in entering the Pakistani market are awaiting final regulatory clearance. While the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) spadework for launching satellite internet services is understood to be almost complete, a key requirement — registration with the Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board (PSARB) — remains pending.
Industry observers say the delay is holding back substantial foreign investment and stalling high-speed connectivity plans at a time when global markets are rapidly integrating satellite broadband into mainstream infrastructure.
Multiple international LEO operators, including Starlink, OneWeb, Amazon Kuiper and SpaceSail, have indicated readiness to deploy services in Pakistan but have been waiting for regulatory clarity and approvals for several years.
Discussions with industry officials revealed that interested operators have provided assurances that they will fully comply with Government of Pakistan regulations, including national security and lawful compliance mechanisms required prior to service launch. They have also indicated that traffic routing would follow the same approved national systems and compliance processes already applicable to terrestrial broadband providers and cellular mobile operators.
“The idea that satellite operators want to bypass security requirements is misinformation,” said one industry observer. “They are prepared to comply with the same lawful frameworks that already exist.”
Industry experts argue that regulatory indecision is limiting Pakistan’s rural broadband potential, industrial IoT expansion, maritime connectivity and disaster response capabilities — areas where satellite broadband is increasingly treated as a core layer of national resilience globally.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s large software houses, IT industry officials and technology companies have been demanding access to LEO satellite internet services to improve connectivity and support digitalisation efforts.
One foreign technology expert familiar with Pakistan’s satellite landscape suggested that prolonged indecision may be linked to efforts to protect state investment in domestic Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite assets.
Pakistan has invested an estimated $400 million in two GEO satellites. However, industry specialists argue that these assets have not generated meaningful commercial returns and are unlikely to do so at scale.
“It appears the government is protecting its GEO satellite investment rather than enabling globally proven connectivity solutions,” the expert said. “But the industry has moved forward. LEO is where scale and commercial momentum is accelerating.”
Experts emphasise that GEO and LEO technologies are not competitors but complementary systems. GEO provides wide-area coverage and stable capacity for broadcast and backbone applications, while LEO delivers low-latency, high-throughput broadband. Many countries are now adopting hybrid satellite architectures as part of long-term resilience strategies.
Analysts also point to structural weaknesses within Pakistan’s satellite governance ecosystem. They argue that the sector is often shaped by institutions and individuals lacking deep technical expertise, contributing to weak regulatory design and delayed decision-making.“A high-technology sector cannot be led by non-technical bodies,” one expert said. “It affects licensing rules, compliance frameworks and the pace at which the country adapts.”
Under modern space governance principles, national space bodies are expected not only to operate satellites but also to develop enabling infrastructure, nurture skilled professionals, support commercialisation and formulate space laws. Industry observers claim Pakistan has yet to build these enabling structures, leaving the ecosystem stagnant while the global space economy accelerates.
The regulatory delay has also drawn attention amid high-profile technology initiatives such as AI Week 2026, promoted as a landmark event for Pakistan’s digital future.
While such events generate visibility through summits and investment messaging, some analysts describe them as part of a recurring cycle of “event-driven progress,” where conferences and optimistic claims outpace structural reform.“Now we’ll see the usual cycle — billion-dollar numbers, polished panels and the same speakers,” said one telecom policy analyst. “But the structural reforms remain stuck.”
Globally, satellite broadband is increasingly integrated with cloud platforms and enterprise-grade connectivity systems. Amazon, for instance, operates one of the world’s largest cloud infrastructures through AWS, which analysts believe could complement its Project Kuiper LEO initiative. OneWeb has expanded across Europe in partnership with governments and telecom operators, while Starlink, operated by SpaceX, is active in more than 165 countries. Other LEO players such as SpaceSail have also entered the global race.
Earlier, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja had stated that satellite internet services would begin by November or December last year. However, industry stakeholders, including freelancers and IT firms, say they continue to wait for operational clarity.
Telecom experts believe Pakistan still has an opportunity to reset its direction. However, they caution that the global market is shifting toward cloud-integrated, satellite-enabled and hybrid infrastructure models.
“The world is building for the next decade,” said one senior regulatory executive. “Pakistan is still debating technologies that are already operational globally.”
Until regulatory consistency and execution replace uncertainty and delay, analysts warn that Pakistan risks remaining a market where ambition appears modern, but delivery remains postponed.
