Islamabad, November 28, 2025:
Amazon’s Project Kuiper announced plans to launch high-speed satellite internet in Pakistan by mid-2026, aiming to serve 50 million underserved users with broadband speeds up to 1 Gbps at a subscription rate of $30 per month.
The announcement came during a virtual briefing between Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Naveed Haider, detailing partnerships with local infrastructure firm Transworld to establish ground stations in Karachi and Lahore. The initiative will initially invest $500 million in the Pakistani market.
Project Kuiper will compete with Starlink, which currently serves 2 million users worldwide. Analysts predict the service could boost Pakistan’s GDP by 3% and significantly reduce the country’s 40% digital divide, especially in rural and underserved regions.
Despite enthusiasm, potential hurdles include PTA spectrum allocation delays and security challenges in Balochistan. Jassy emphasized the use of encrypted technology to prevent signal jamming. Critics, including economist Kaiser Bengali, have urged Amazon to maintain 30% local equity to avoid foreign dominance in the telecom sector.
Kuiper’s 3,236-satellite constellation, with 50% already launched by 2025, promises latency under 20 milliseconds, enabling advanced e-commerce, telemedicine, and education services, particularly in remote areas like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The announcement follows India’s Jio-Starlink talks, highlighting the intensifying South Asian satellite broadband race as 5G rollout lags in the region.
