Mian Zahid urges govt to complete satellite-internet regulations

According to Business Recorder, Mian Zahid Hussain has called on the authorities to finish framing satellite-internet rules and introduce an open licensing procedure with firm deadlines. He argued that fast, dependable internet is now essential for exports, investment, education and medical diagnosis.

Hussain pointed to a sharp rise in the country's IT export earnings: telecommunications, computer and information services reached $4.6 billion in FY2025-26, about 21 percent above the $3.8 billion recorded a year earlier. July 2026 receipts rose roughly 18 percent to $417 million from $354 million in July 2025. He said such gains show room for IT firms, freelancers and young graduates to bring in foreign currency and create jobs.

Satellite internet, he said, should sit alongside undersea cables, land-based networks and fibre-optic build-out as a supplementary link. Nationally, 57 percent of people aged ten and over use the internet, compared with 69 percent in urban areas and 49 percent in rural ones, a gap of 20 percentage points. He also called for pilot schemes in less-developed districts and in urban and rural health facilities, where healthcare centres could be linked to international hospitals under specialist supervision.