Pakistan has begun its journey to make the most advanced 5G internet commercially accessible to customers in 2022-23, which will speed up downloads 10 times to one gigabit per second (Gbps) and greatly increase the country’s economic activities.
As the digital economy widened several times during these trying times in Pakistan, the Covid-19 pandemic proved a blessing in disguise. The crisis has triggered digital technology upgrades by regulators and stakeholders.
A detailed roadmap for 5G technology readiness in the nation is being established by the government of Pakistan. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said in its 2020 annual report that it plans to auction “spectrum for… 5G services in fiscal year 2023.”
Earlier, in 2019 and 2020, cell phone service providers successfully conducted a pilot trial of 5G networks in a restricted area and on a non-commercial basis. With a reported download speed of more than one Gbps, Pakistan is the first country in South Asia to test 5G.
It was learned that the tested speeds were 10 times faster compared to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) on the world’s 4G internet.
It was also learned that, through the auction of the spectrum in FY21, the government estimated that Rs27 billion will be raised.
Previously, after the Supreme Court debarred the companies from the imposition of operation and maintenance charges in 2019, the authority had ordered cell phone service providing firms to refund Rs9.2 billion to customers. They have, however, refunded just Rs6.9 billion so far.
