PTA Issues IoT Licenses to 7 More Companies

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued Internet of Things (IoT) licenses to seven more companies.

According to details, PTA has issued IoT licenses to Blix Networks (SMC-Private) Ltd, National Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority – NEECA, Dreams Networks & Technology (Pvt) Limited, Pepsi Cola International Pvt Ltd, Multinet Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd, Itecknologi Pvt Ltd, and Sparknet Technologies & Solutions (SMC-Pvt) Ltd.

All companies have been issued licenses for five years which can be renewed after the expiry.

The PTA has issued IoT licenses to these operators under section 5 of the Pakistan Telecommunication Act 1996 and PTA Regulatory Framework for Short Range Devices (SRD) & Terrestrial Internet of Things (IoT) Services.

These companies have been issued licenses to establish, maintain and operate IoT Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) network for the provision of LPWAN Services in Pakistan.

According to PTA officials, after the issuance of licenses to these new companies, the number of Internet of Things (IoT) operators has increased to thirteen. The authority has issued IoT licenses to these two operators after fulfilling all requirements mentioned in the checklist.

Earlier, PTA had issued IoT licenses to six companies which include Noby Solutions (Private) LTD, IoT Technologies (SMC-Private) LTD, LCC Pakistan (Private) LTD, WeatherWalay (Private) LTD, infostructure Pakistan (Private) LTD and Kwick High Tech & Solutions Pvt. Limited.

According to PTA, these companies have provided a brief explanation of the IoT Application along with the network Topology including the end devices, Gateways, and central network server. These companies have also provided a brief about end-to-end security between various components of the network (end devices, Gateways, Data Platform, and Application).

Under the regulatory framework, the operators are bound to provide reports to PTA about all expansions of the network in terms of Gateways installed/added and also to provide any other information as required by PTA from time to time.

Typically, the IoT solution providers use the connectivity of existing Cellular Mobile Operators, and therefore they are not required to deploy any new base station. The operator is bound to take approval from PTA if it wants to install a new base station.

PTA issued a Regulatory Framework for Short Range Devices (SRD) & Terrestrial Internet of Things (IoT) Services in February last year. The framework provides a regulatory mechanism for the industry, to enable the development of the IoT ecosystem in Pakistan.