The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has officially begun licensing Virtual Private Network (VPN) service providers under the Class Value Added Services (CVAS-Data) regime, marking a significant step in regulating and securing Pakistan’s digital landscape.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the PTA said the initiative aims to streamline the provision of secure and lawful VPN services in the country while ensuring compliance with national regulations and data security standards.
PTA Issues Licenses to Multiple Companies
According to the statement, the telecom regulator has granted Class Licences 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)
Vision Tech 360 Pvt Ltd (Kryptonyme VPN)
A class licence allows multiple users to operate under a common set of regulatory conditions without requiring individual approval.
“These licensees are authorised to offer VPN services to individuals and organisations for legitimate and lawful purposes,” the PTA stated.
Users can now directly obtain VPN services from these licensed providers, eliminating the need to approach PTA for individual VPN registration of IP addresses or mobile numbers.
The regulator said this move is aimed at enhancing user convenience, regulatory facilitation, and cybersecurity across Pakistan’s growing digital ecosystem.
Background and Policy Shift
The PTA’s decision follows years of difficulty enforcing VPN compliance. In December last year, the authority introduced a revised registration strategy after earlier warnings to ban unregistered VPNs failed to achieve results.
Initially, in November 2023, PTA announced plans to ban VPNs due to the lack of a legal framework, but later rescinded the decision, opting instead to regulate the market.
In February 2024, the regulator issued the first two VPN licences as part of its monitoring initiative to track traffic circumventing national internet controls.
Under the new framework, the licensed VPN services will primarily cater to commercial clients — including IT companies, banks, and foreign missions — while unauthorised individual use of VPNs will remain unlawful.
VPN Usage and Internet Restrictions
VPNs are widely used worldwide to access restricted or region-locked content. In Pakistan, VPNs are often used to access X (formerly Twitter) and other blocked websites.
The PTA has said that the new system is designed not to suppress connectivity but to create a transparent, regulated environment for secure communication and business operations.
