Pak Datacom Limited (PDL) has raised its satellite bandwidth utilisation eightfold in a year, driven by growing demand for reliable, high-capacity connectivity across Pakistan, and now serves around 550 major government, financial, and corporate institutions. The company spokesman said the rising demand had sped up the modernisation of PDL’s satellite network through High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) technology, additional bandwidth, and multiple satellite platforms. After PAKSAT-1R services reached end-of-life and were closed, PDL moved toward HTS because the Standard-Ku Band capacity it needed was not available on MM1, prompting the company to diversify its satellite infrastructure rather than rely on a single legacy platform.
The company has also expanded its Yahsat arrangement, which has been in place since 2016, when the UAE-based satellite operator first signed Pak Datacom as a service partner for its YahClick broadband service. The spokesman said Yahsat services had operated in Pakistan for several years under the applicable legal and regulatory framework, with more than 4,000 Yahsat links, including over 1,000 government links, now running through multiple service providers. This clarification around Yahsat’s regulatory standing comes as Pak Datacom’s use of foreign satellite capacity has drawn parliamentary scrutiny, with the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication recently placing the reported shift of Pak Datacom to a foreign satellite on its agenda alongside national security concerns raised by committee members.
PDL has adopted a multi-band, multi-platform strategy covering C-Band, Ku-Band, and Ka-Band, using HTS platforms including Yahsat and Kacific according to customer needs, a shift the spokesman said is also helping overcome the limits of legacy Ku infrastructure and offer more scalable connectivity. On security, the spokesman said the network uses VPNs, GRE tunnelling, firewalls, encryption, authentication, and access controls to support secure connectivity from remote sites to customer networks, addressing exactly the kind of data protection concerns that have surfaced in recent parliamentary discussions around the company’s satellite arrangements. He said PDL had also demonstrated its capabilities in difficult terrain, including connectivity for the world’s highest-altitude ATM at Khunjerab Pass in Gilgit-Baltistan, at around 15,396 feet and recognised by Guinness World Records, an example the company has used previously to showcase its ability to deliver connectivity in extreme conditions.
The spokesman added that PDL was expanding beyond satellite services, with the company having begun work to extend its fibre infrastructure in key areas across Pakistan following the acquisition of its Fixed Line License (FLL), a move expected to support high-speed connectivity and create direct and indirect jobs. The company said network modernisation and infrastructure expansion were continuing under the oversight of its Board of Directors and management, with a focus on secure, reliable, and uninterrupted connectivity through satellite, fibre, and other advanced telecom technologies. As Pak Datacom continues diversifying its satellite platforms and expanding into fibre, the company’s public emphasis on regulatory compliance and network security suggests it is directly addressing the concerns raised in the Senate committee’s ongoing scrutiny of its foreign satellite partnerships.
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