The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has officially started licensing companies providing Virtual Private Network (VPN) services.
According to a statement issued by the authority, this move has been taken under the Commercial Cloud VPN Services (CVAS-Data), which aims to ensure secure, trusted and legal VPN services in the country.
The statement said that VPN licenses have been issued to 6 companies, including Alpha 3 Cubic (Steer Lucid), Zettabyte (Crest VPN), Nexilium Tech (Kestrel VPN), UKI Conic Solutions (QuiXure VPN), and Vision Tech 360 (Kryptonyme VPN).
These companies have been allowed to provide VPN services in accordance with the country’s laws and policy objectives.
The PTA says that the purpose of licensed VPN services is to provide safe, legal and regulated digital facilities to internet users to prevent the use of illegal services and improve the digital ecosystem in the country.
According to the authority, users will now be able to legally avail the services of PTA-approved VPN companies for internet browsing, mobile banking, remote work and other services.
The PTA says that this move will help improve cybersecurity, ensure transparency of digital technology and data protection.
It is pertinent to mention that in December 2024, PTA permitted VPN registration linked to mobile numbers to facilitate freelancers.
