Kacific and Paksat to sell satellite broadband in Pakistan

Kacific Broadband Satellites Group announced on Tuesday it is partnering with satellite operator Paksat International and Pakistan’s national space agency, the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), to expand high-speed, affordable satellite internet across the country.

The partnership will leverage the Paksat-MM1 geostationary satellite, which was launched in May 2024. Paksat-MM1 provides communications services in Ka, Ku, C and other bands across 99% of Pakistan, with gateway beams over Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad. Kacific provides 24/7 support for the satellite via its operations centre in Singapore.

Kacific and Paksat will utilise 11 Ka-band spot beams on Paksat MM1 to deliver high-throughput capacity for over 20,000 sites, providing essential broadband access for communities, businesses, government agencies, ISPs, and telcos, to include mobile backhaul and backup connectivity in remote regions.

According to Kacific, over 54% of Pakistan’s population lacks reliable broadband, with over 131.8 million people offline. Fibre infrastructure is extremely limited, with less than 5% of homes and 15% of mobile towers connected by fibre. Kacific said its high-speed satellite service will significantly enhance Pakistan’s mobile backhaul capabilities, bypassing infrastructure limitations at a fraction of the cost of fibre.

Kacific will launch its Gigstarter plans in Pakistan, which offer unlimited data in three monthly package tiers starting at speeds of 30 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream. It will sell the services via local licenced operators, and promises easy, low-cost installation for residential and business users.

Kacific also intends to train and certify hundreds of Kacific Authorized Distributors (KADs) to install, resell, and maintain sites across Pakistan.

“With this partnership, Kacific is making a long-term investment in Pakistan’s digital future,” said Kacific CEO Christian Patouraux. “We’re expanding ISP partnerships, training KAD installers, and deploying essential infrastructure to meet the country’s growing connectivity needs.”