PTA barred Starlink to pre-book orders from Pakistani users

Pakistanis grew excited as word of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service’s impending arrival spread around the country, and they anxiously awaited the service’s formal debut. 

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has notified the public that satellite broadband provider Starlink has yet to apply for and be given a license to operate and supply internet services in Pakistan. 

As a result, the general public is encouraged to refrain from placing any pre-booking orders on Starlink or any of its connected websites in their own best interests. The instructions were issued in response to claims that the company is requiring intending subscribers to pay a USD99 (refundable) deposit as a pre-order for equipment/services via their website. 

PTA has already taken up the matter with Starlink to stop taking pre-order bookings from intended consumers with immediate effect as the Company has not been granted any license for provision of internet services in Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/rlWoUt7SQg

— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) January 19, 2022

The internet provider must ask for approval and required licences from PTA before taking orders or pre-bookings. 

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink and Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom had planned to roll out Starlink’s Satellite Broadband Internet across the country. 

Last month, a team from Starlink, a US-based global satellite broadband provider, including Ryan Goodnight, Director Middle East and Asia, and Ben Macwilliam, Head of Global Site Acquisition, met with Syed Aminul Haque, Minister of IT and Telecom, to discuss policy and operations. 

 The project’s goal is to employ a mega-constellation of satellites orbiting the planet to deliver high-speed internet connectivity all over the world.