The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is aggressively expanding internet access across the country. Consequently, the authority has officially approved 21 applications for the new District Level Class License for Internet Services. The PTA launched these internet licenses to foster local entrepreneurship and improve broadband penetration at the district level.
The PTA formally introduced this specific licensing category on January 1, 2026, aligning it with the Broadband Policy of 2004. The regulator has received a total of 62 applications as of May 2026. Out of these, the PTA successfully approved 21 licenses targeting 21 different districts. The remaining 41 applications are currently under active evaluation. The PTA issues this Class License for a strict 10-year term. Furthermore, operators can only hold one license per entity, which heavily restricts their operating jurisdiction to a single district.
Internet Licenses: Financial Structure & Rollout Obligations
Applicants must initially pay a PKR 20,000 application processing fee. Upon approval, entities face an Initial License Fee (ILF) of PKR 300,000. Additionally, licensees must pay an Annual License Fee (ALF) of PKR 100,000. The PTA enforces a 10% annual increment on this yearly fee.
Operations must commence rapidly. Operators must start their services within one year from the official license issuance date. Moreover, they must successfully deploy at least 100 broadband connections within one year of receiving their commencement certificate.
Infrastructure & Bandwidth Rules
The PTA dictates strict infrastructure rules for these new operators. Licensees must acquire their bandwidth directly from PTCL, Long Distance and International (LDI) Licensees, or Local Loop (LL) Licensees.
For last-mile infrastructure, operators have three distinct options:
- They can acquire it from an LL Licensee, an Infrastructure Licensee (IL), or PTCL.
- They can utilize infrastructure under their own PEMRA-issued “Cable TV Distribution” License.
- They can lay their own purpose-specific transport infrastructure.
However, the PTA only permits this third option if the entity actively fails to obtain infrastructure from existing providers for three consecutive months. They also require explicit prior approval from the PTA to proceed with building their own network.
