PTA initiates licensing of VPN service providers

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has commenced the licensing of virtual private network (VPN) service providers under the reinstated Class Value Added Services (CVAS-Data) licensing regime.

“This initiative aims to streamline the provision of secure and lawful VPN services in Pakistan while ensuring compliance with national regulations and data security standards,” PTA said in a statement on Thursday.

PTA has granted class licenses to several companies, including Alpha 3 Cubic (Pvt.) Ltd. (Steer Lucid), Zettabyte (Pvt.) Ltd. (Crest VPN), Nexilium Tech (SMC-Pvt.) Ltd. (Kestrel VPN), UKI Conic Solutions (SMC-Pvt.) Ltd. (QuiXure VPN), and Vision Tech 360 (Pvt.) Ltd. (Kryptonyme VPN).

The authority said that these licensees are authorised to offer VPN services to individuals and organisations for legitimate and lawful purposes.

“Users may now conveniently obtain VPN services directly from these licensed providers without the need to approach PTA for separate VPN registration of their IP addresses or mobile numbers. This measure is aimed at promoting regulatory facilitation, user convenience, and enhanced cybersecurity across Pakistan’s digital ecosystem,” read the statement.

Last year, PTA allowed freelancers to register their VPN using mobile numbers. The move followed the government’s decision not to ban VPNs, as the law ministry said the government did not have the legal authority to impose such a ban under the Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016.