Satellite Internet’s Regulatory Battle

For most of Pakistan’s history, space and connectivity operated in separate worlds. Satellite services largely served businesses through VSAT links, while the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, or Suparco, managed orbital assets within a security structure. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, meanwhile, regulated the terrestrial market.

The two systems rarely met. Pakistan had no consumer satellite market, and foreign constellations did not sell internet directly to households. The commercial rise of low Earth orbit broadband has now disrupted that arrangement.

When Starlink first engaged with the PTA in December 2021, the regulator had no clear framework for the service. The PTA’s categories were built mainly around terrestrial networks, while Suparco’s mandate focused on research. The arrival of a private satellite internet provider exposed the gap between those responsibilities.

Pakistan responded by approving its National Space Policy in December 2023. Two months later, it followed with rules for the Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board. The new framework reflects the challenge of bringing satellite broadband into a system designed when space services and household connectivity remained largely separate.