Shaza Fatima Khawaja, the Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication, announced on Thursday that Pakistan is in talks with Starlink to introduce its services to the whole country.
The announcement was made at a meeting of the Senate’s IT and Telecommunication Standing Committee.
The discussion, which was chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan, covered problems with the country’s internet infrastructure and how they affect the IT industry.
Khawaja told committee members, “We are in discussions with Starlink to bring them to Pakistan,” and she also revealed intentions to sell off the 5G spectrum in April 2024, presenting it as a step toward modernizing the country’s digital infrastructure.
She did recognize some serious obstacles, such as the lack of investment in the IT industry during the previous three years, which has made it difficult for the nation to fulfill the growing needs of internet usage.
The MPs voiced their anger during the discussion about the recent sluggish internet speeds and outages that have impacted millions of people nationwide, making it impossible for them to access different online platforms and share and download media, voice notes, and other materials.
For people who rely on dependable internet connection, such as freelancers, digital marketers, students enrolled in online courses, and those working from home, these internet problems are especially concerning.
Speaking about the problem, the P@SHA chairman informed the committee that internet outages had been reported by 99% of the IT businesses.
The PTA chairman, who was speaking at the event, flatly denied that there was a regulation limiting internet speed.
IT Minister Khawaja, meanwhile, insisted that the government needed to control bogus news while attributing the sluggish internet to “technical reasons.”
