Senate committee told LDI firms are immune to shutdown

The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications was briefed on Monday about the strategic importance of Long Distance and International (LDI) companies, stating that their operations cannot be shut down. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman highlighted the removal of the former IT secretary after a unilateral decision regarding the renewal of LDI licences.

Despite some LDI companies filing court cases, the PTA chairman mentioned that five companies were willing to pay the required fees. Concerns were raised about the impact on the network if these companies’ licences were not renewed, with Wateen being a key player with an extensive fibre optic infrastructure.

The officials emphasized that the suspension of these companies’ operations would greatly affect telephony services in the country and PTCL cannot fill the gap left by them. The importance of vacation of stay orders from courts to resolve the issue was highlighted during the discussions.

Additionally, the use of VPNs to access X (formerly Twitter) was deemed illegal by interior ministry representatives, sparking a discussion on the legality and dangers of using free VPNs.