Pakistan draft would make IoT software firms register with PTA

Pakistan draft would make IoT software firms register with PTA

5 November 2026: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority's draft IoT rules reach past network operators to software: any firm that develops or provides an application, software platform or digital service using data from IoT devices or networks would need a five-year registration, at PKR 10,000 plus a PKR 5,000 processing fee. The authority wants comments by 20 November.

Not yet independently verified. The PTA page prints no date for this item; 5 November comes from the PDF's file name. This is an ungazetted draft, so fees and periods may change, and we have not re-read the carve-out for cellular licensees line by line. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

One licence and three registrations, with software among them

The draft Internet of Things and Low Power Wide Area Networks (IoT-LPWAN) Licensing Regulations 2026 are made under section 5(2)(o) of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act 1996, and take effect from the date of gazette notification.

• IoT-LPWAN licence: for providing IoT services to third parties through the LPWAN bands in the framework. Five years; PKR 100,000 initial fee plus a non-refundable PKR 5,000 for processing.
• Private IoT network registration: a single premise such as a farm, plant or campus, for its own use. Five years; PKR 10,000 plus PKR 5,000.
• IoT regulatory sandbox registration: a single premise, for research or test and trial. One year; PKR 2,000 plus PKR 1,000.
• IoT platform or application provider registration: the software category, for entities that do not themselves provide public connectivity. Five years; PKR 10,000 plus PKR 5,000.

The fees are small. The obligation is what a foreign vendor will notice: a software company outside Pakistan with customers there will want to establish whether the category reaches it, and the consultation is the place to ask.

Backhaul and gateways are where it bites

Rule 13 says an IoT operator "shall transport all the backend traffic (including the satellite backhaul) through a PTA-licensed Local Access Provider only". The application form adds that connectivity with an unlicensed operator "will be tantamount to cancellation of the license/registration". A deployment that sends sensor data straight to a foreign cloud over an unlicensed link, or uses a satellite service with no local licence, needs checking against that sentence.

Every gateway must also be registered on the PTA's online portal. Licensees and registered entities file a quarterly report of active IoT connections and gateways, broken down by district for licensees.

A licensee has one year from the effective date to start services and obtain a Commencement Certificate, or the licence is cancelled, with one extension of up to six months on a reasoned request. It must publish terms of service and service levels on its website and run a complaints process. The authority may also direct suspension or restriction on grounds of national security or public safety.

Existing licensees and the comment route

Existing LPWAN licences are treated as issued under the new rules for the rest of their term. Those holders get 90 days to register their gateways on the portal.

Comments go to satellite-lic@pta.gov.pk, addressed to the Director Satellite, by 20 November. The agricultural, utility and industrial firms running private LoRa-type networks have an interest in the premises wording: a single-premise registration does not obviously fit a network spread across several sites.

We list nine IoT software products and 289 IoT development companies, and any of them with customers in Pakistan has reason to read the platform category before the draft is finalised.

Sources

• PTA Consultation Papers, item 122 (no date on the item, read 6 November 2026), 6 November 2026
• PTA: Draft Internet of Things and Low Power Wide Area Networks (IoT-LPWAN) Licensing Regulations 2026 (PDF, file dated 5 November 2026), 5 November 2026
• TechJuice: PTA introduces new IoT licensing regime with Rs 100,000 fee, 6 November 2026, 6 November 2026