The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has put forward a new licensing framework for Internet of Things services, and for the first time the rules would reach beyond network operators to the software companies building on top of connected devices. The draft Internet of Things and Low Power Wide Area Networks (IoT-LPWAN) Licensing Regulations 2026 were circulated for public consultation on 5 November, and the authority is accepting comments until 20 November.
The proposal matters because connected devices are spreading fast across Pakistan — from smart meters and farm sensors to tracking devices, home automation and industrial monitoring. Until now, licensing has focused mainly on the companies running the networks. The new draft would bring the operators, the private networks, the test labs and the software platforms under one set of rules.
It is important to be clear about the status of these rules: they are a draft. Nothing in them is final yet, and the fees and conditions can still change after the industry responds. What follows is what the draft proposes, not what the law says today.
Four tiers: a licence, two registrations and a sandbox
The draft creates four separate categories, each with its own fee and term.
The main commercial category is the IoT-LPWAN licence, for any company providing Internet of Things services to third parties over the designated low-power wide-area network bands. It would run for five years, with a non-refundable processing fee of Rs 5,000 and an initial licence fee of Rs 100,000.
A second category covers private IoT networks — a farm, a factory, a university campus or an industrial plant running its own network for its own use. That would be a registration, not a licence, lasting five years at Rs 10,000 plus a Rs 5,000 processing fee. A private network could not sell services to outsiders.
A third category is the regulatory sandbox, for companies testing new Internet of Things ideas. Sandbox registration would last one year and cost Rs 2,000 plus a Rs 1,000 processing fee.
The fourth category is the one that breaks new ground: registration for IoT platform or application providers. These are the software firms that build applications, platforms or digital services on top of data from IoT devices, without providing public connectivity themselves. They would need a five-year registration at Rs 10,000 plus a Rs 5,000 processing fee.
The regulations are made under section 5(2)(o) of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act 1996, and would take effect from the date of gazette notification.
Software companies are now in scope — the biggest change
The platform and application category is the most significant part of the draft, because it reaches past the network layer into software. Any firm that develops or provides an application, a software platform or a digital service using data from IoT devices or networks would need to register.
That includes Pakistani startups building dashboards, analytics and control apps for connected devices — and it may also reach foreign software vendors whose products have customers in Pakistan. Those vendors will need to check whether the category applies to them, and the consultation window is the place to ask. The draft’s wording does not obviously draw a line between a company selling a finished product and one selling a service, so the detail matters.
Cheaper than the old framework — and where it would apply
For commercial operators, the proposed fees are considerably lower than the framework they replace. Under the earlier district-level arrangement, an IoT licence carried an initial fee of Rs 300,000 plus an annual fee of Rs 100,000. The draft’s single Rs 100,000 fee for a five-year licence is a much lighter burden, and could encourage smaller operators and startups to enter the market.
The draft proposes two frequency bands for these networks — 433.05 to 434.79 megahertz and 920 to 925 megahertz — with maximum transmission power capped at one watt. Operations would run on a secondary, non-interference and non-protection basis, meaning IoT networks must not interfere with primary users of the spectrum and cannot demand protection from them.
The regulations list ten application areas where these networks are expected to be used: smart cities, energy utilities, agriculture, environmental monitoring, industrial automation, logistics, healthcare, education and public safety.
Backend traffic and gateway rules
The strictest part of the draft is what happens behind the scenes. Rule 13 says an IoT operator must transport all backend traffic — including satellite backhaul — through a PTA-licensed Local Access Provider only. The application form adds that connectivity with an unlicensed operator would amount to cancellation of the licence or registration. Any deployment sending sensor data straight to a foreign cloud over an unlicensed link, or using a satellite service with no local licence, would need to be checked against that rule.
Every gateway would also have to be registered on the PTA’s online portal. Licensees and registered entities would file quarterly reports of their active IoT connections and gateways, broken down by district for licensees.
A licensee would have one year from the effective date to start services and obtain a Commencement Certificate, or the licence would be cancelled — with one extension of up to six months on a reasoned request. Licensees would also have to publish their terms of service and service levels on their websites and run a complaints process, and the authority could direct suspension or restriction on grounds of national security or public safety.
What happens to existing licence holders — and what happens next
Companies already holding IoT licences are not starting from zero. PTA issued IoT licences to 23 companies under the earlier framework in April 2026, and those licences would be treated as issued under the new rules for the rest of their term. Those holders would get 90 days to register their gateways on the portal.
For everyone else, the next step is the consultation itself. Comments go to the Director Satellite at satellite-lic@pta.gov.pk by 20 November 2026. Farmers running private sensor networks, factories with their own LoRa networks, startups building IoT software and the telecom operators themselves all have a direct interest in how the final version lands — and the draft’s lower fees and clearer tiers suggest the regulator wants more of them inside the formal system, not fewer.
Until the consultation closes and the regulations are notified, though, the figures above remain proposals. Anyone planning a deployment or a budget should treat them as the draft’s numbers, and watch for the final version.
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