Users in Pakistan are advised not to pay any advance money for the Starlink internet through the company run by Elon Musk. The authority has told the public to refrain from pre-booking the satellite internet services on the Starlink website or any associated website.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said in a news release that Starlink has not obtained any license to operate or provide internet services in Pakistan. Starlink, the SpaceX company, has neither applied for any license to sell their services in the country.
PTA, the regulatory authority in the country, has hence advised the general public in Pakistan to refrain from pre-booking the services through Starlink.
“The directions came in the wake of reports that Starlink, through its website, is asking intended subscribers to pay a deposit of USD 99 (refundable) as pre-order for equipment/services,”
— PTA said in the news release.
The authority has mentioned in the statement that it has already taken the matter with the satellite internet provider to stop taking pre-orders from the customers in Pakistan.
“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.”
There, however, no response was heard from the SpaceX company. It appears, as of the writing, the company is still taking pre-orders for the addresses in Pakistan.
Update – 20-01-2022: Starlink has stopped taking pre-orders for the addresses in Pakistan.
It’s not the first of a kind halt of the Starlink satellite internet services somewhere. India announced in a similar way in November 2022 and also took the matter to the company to stop taking pre-orders until it acquires a license to operate in the country.
Sooner, following the announcement in India, the company halted taking pre-orders in the country. The people in India also were then prompted with a message that Starlink is unavailable due to pending regulatory approval.
While the company later was reported to apply for the license by the end of January 2022, the company’s lead executive in India resigned after the reports emerged of Starlink emailing customers in India that they would be refunding deposits.
It must be noted that the company has still not obtained any license to offer its services in India. Neither there are any reports of the company has applied for the license, contrary to the earlier reports about applying by the end of January 2022.
