PTA says last date for VPN registration extended to September 30

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Friday announced it has further extended the deadline for businesses and the public to register their Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) with the authority.

Under the new deadline, users can register their VPNs till September 30, 2020.

The move was made on the recommendations of the Ministry of IT, Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) and Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA).

"Legitimate VPN users are requested to approach their internet service provider for initiating VPN registration process," said PTA.

Users can send in their inquiries to the authority at ipreport@pta.gov.pk.

Earlier, at the outset of July, PTA had provided an opportunity for VPN registration till July 31.

Prior to that, in June, the authority said that the exercise is "being undertaken to promote legal #ICT services/business in Pakistan and safety of telecom users".

It said that "appropriate registration is required from PTA for any mode communication in which communication becomes hidden or encrypted".

The authority had invited users to complete registration by June 30, 2020.

It had warned that action will be taken "only against unauthorised VPNs for terminating illegal traffic which causes loss to the national exchequer".

A VPN is a service that enables users to browse the internet with their internet protocol (IP) address masked so their online actions are virtually untraceable. This enables a user to maintain online security and privacy.