The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) clarified on Monday that it has not blocked any virtual private networks (VPNs) in the country so far, and has no plans to do so in the future, despite having the technical capability to block them.
During the launch of its ‘Annual Report,’ PTA announced that the telecom sector had reached a record revenue of Rs955 billion in the fiscal year 2023-24. Additionally, the report highlighted an average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs302 per month during the April-June 2024 period.
PTA Chairman Hafizur Rehman confirmed that, contrary to recent rumors, no VPNs have been blocked, and there are no plans to block them in the future. He emphasized, “We have the capability to block VPNs, but we will not.” This statement follows months of speculation about the regulator’s plans to register VPNs, with the deadline for registration extended beyond November 30, although no new deadline for suspension has been set.
The government had expressed concerns about the potential misuse of VPNs for accessing immoral content on social media and other internet platforms. According to PTA data, over half of Pakistan’s population uses Facebook and YouTube, which remain the most popular platforms, with over 60 million Facebook users and more than 70 million YouTube viewers.
TikTok also ranks highly with 54.4 million users, 78% of whom are male. Instagram has 7.3 million users, with 64% being male and 36% female, as per PTA statistics.
The report further highlighted that Pakistan now has 196 million telecom subscribers, with 142.3 million broadband users, including 138.7 million mobile broadband subscribers. The country’s mobile services cover 91% of its population, with 3G/4G signals reaching over 81%. By June 2024, there were 55,777 operational cell sites, with 95.5% supporting 4G, contributing to the growth in broadband subscriptions.
